The Sum of Us
by Flight of Folly
Summary: Tony and Michelle post Season 2.
1. Dinner & a Movie

_Dinner & a Movie_

**Disclaimer: **The following story is a _Flight of Folly_ original, but '24' and its' characters are property of Fox. The title, 'The Sum of Us' (1994), is from a wonderful Australian film starring Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson.

**Setting:** This story commences three days after the events of Season 2 and will explore the TM relationship outside of the action of CTU.

**A/N:** This story has been categorised as a romance, and will predominately be one, but given the situation at the conclusion of Season 2 some angst will be initially present.

_Friday 9:37 pm _

Logging off the network, Michelle sat lost in her thoughts while her computer went through its shutdown sequence. Three days after the nuclear threat, Michelle was still struggling to deal with the flow-on effects. She was co-currently working her IP-MAN position alongside her new post as Chief of Staff. Between the follow-up paperwork on various protocols pertaining to the nuclear bomb and Cyprus recording, as well as keeping up with all the active protocols, Michelle had an overabundance of work. And Chappelle was expecting her to complete it all while re-establishing the CTU network with a severely reduced staff. The gruelling workload did have one advantage: it distracted her from the emotional toll of that day. She had already attended five funerals, with each one eliciting a fresh wave of painful memories. On top of all this was Tony. Michelle was relieved that she had finally confessed her feelings, in both words and actions, and that he returned them, but it did serve to complicate things. Of course, so far they had both been too overwhelmed with work to delve into their new relationship. Although Tony was showing an uncharacteristic amount of patience and tolerance at her struggle to keep abreast of her workload.

Rubbing his bleary eyes, Tony glanced at the time and then down at Michelle's workstation. She looked as exhausted as he felt. He had been periodically staring down at her all day, trying to work up the courage to ask her out. Given that she had essentially already said yes, he really shouldn't be so anxious. But if he was honest with himself, his nervousness was due to the fact that he was scared of letting down the wall between his professional and personal lives. From day one he had worked hard to prevent this relationship from occurring. He had been against Michelle's appointment based solely on her gender, but had slowly come to trust and respect her as a diligent, highly efficient colleague. As their working friendship had progressed other feelings had developed but, having learnt his lesson with Nina Myers, he was careful to suppress them. Now he had to find the courage to take a second leap of faith knowing the pain he would face if he didn't land on his feet.

"CTU, Dessler," Michelle answered curtly in the hopes of discouraging the caller from delaying her eminent departure.

"Have I got you at a bad time?" Tony enquired in response to Michelle's tone.

"No, I'm just about to leave for the day. Was there something you needed?"

"Could you stop by my office on your way out? I promise not to keep you long," he requested.

"Sure. I'll be right up." Michelle collected her belongings, tossed them in her oversized bag and headed upstairs to Tony's office. As he was expecting her, she entered without knocking and made her way across to his desk. As Tony looked up from the report he was scrolling though, a hint of a smile appearing on his weary face. Standing up, Tony walked around his desk and lent against it so that he was alongside her.

"Sorry to keep you. I know you've been working really hard trying to deal with your insane workload. Hopefully things should start to settle down next week once the new IP-MAN has started."

Michelle nodded in agreement, although not entirely convinced that she shared Tony's optimism. She remembered the amount of time Tony had invested in helping her become fluent in CTU's network and had a feeling that training the new IP-MAN would only add to her workload.

"So I guess you'll be at George's funeral tomorrow?" Tony continued.

"Yes," Michelle answered although the question was almost rhetorical. She sensed that Tony had something to ask her that had nothing to do with the work-related comments he was currently making. She had taken the initiative to tell him that she was interested in him, now it was his turn to act.

Berating himself for asking such a stupid question, and one that darkened the mood, Tony brought his hand up to rub his check as he paused for a moment to consider his next words.

"I was thinking that maybe we could get together afterwards for that dinner and movie. George certainly wasn't the type who would want us lamenting his death," Tony commented awkwardly, hoping that his suggestion wouldn't come across as totally insensitive. On some level, he had liked George and no one deserved to die under such circumstances, but being miserable wouldn't change the outcome of that day.

Michelle couldn't help but smile at both the invitation and Tony's comment. Remembering George's final advice, which had been the stimulus for their current understanding, she couldn't think of a more fitting time for their first date.

"I'd like that," she replied.

Smiling fully now, Tony asked, "How about I pick you up at 6:30?"

"That's fine with me. I guess you have access to my address?"

"I ran your security check when you started at CTU," Tony stated smirking at her.

"So, umm, I guess you know about the whole, umm, sex scandal," Michelle stated, forcing herself to keep her expression neutral. Glancing across at Tony, she was rewarded with seeing his jaw drop as a shocked look crossed his face and couldn't help but laugh.

Catching on, Tony shook his head slowly. In a sightly ominous tone, he commented, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Michelle responded lightly, before turning to leave feeling relaxed for the first time in days.

Watching her departing form for a few seconds, Tony returned to his desk with a smile on his face. The conversation reminded him of her job interview, during which Michelle had also refused to be subjugated by his intimidation techniques; her personal strength and conviction were defining traits that Tony valued, even if he was on the losing end.

…

_Saturday 2:55 pm _

Walking into the church, Michelle looked around at the sparse gathering for George's funeral. Most of those present were higher management from Division who had only come out of duty, a thought that disillusioned Michelle as she had genuinely liked and respected George despite his crusty demeanour. For about the millionth time since that day, she considered his last words of advice and promised herself that she would not end her life unhappy and lonely.

"Hello Michelle."

Turning to face Ryan Chappelle, she responded politely, "Hello, Mr. Chappelle."

"Sad turn of events."

"It is," Michelle answered softly.

"Makes for a lot of changes over at CTU," he continued.

"Yes."

"Still, George assembled himself a good team. I'm sure you'll continue to follow his good lead."

"Of course," Michelle answered concisely, hoping to give Ryan the hint that she was not in the mood for idle small talk.

"Although with the losses from the explosion, a considerable number of new staff members will be necessary and that is always destabilising."

"We're working hard to ensure that all new staff has a smooth transition," Michelle assured him. Ryan's apparent lack of awareness at the emotional burden associated with the events he was discussing, especially given the forum in which they were standing, was making her feel increasing awkward. However, he was her superior and she was still on shaky ground after her collusion in his sedation so Michelle was hesitant to cause offence and unsure how to gracefully extract herself from the situation.

"Ryan, Michelle," Tony's abrupt greeting interrupted their tète á tète and filled Michelle with a sense of relief. Ryan and Tony had a long history of animosity, far predating Tony's actions on the day of the nuclear threat, and his presence was sure to expedite Ryan's departure.

Returning Tony's greeting with a slight nod of his head, Ryan commented, "If you two will excuse me, I have a few issues I wish to discuss with Brad."

Watching Ryan make his way across the church to join Brad Hammonds, Michelle greeted Tony in turn, "Hi Tony."

"Hey," he replied in a soft tone. Tilting his head slightly to the side, as if to examine her, he continued, "You OK?"

"I'm fine," Michelle replied not really sure if he was referring to her conservation with Ryan or George's funeral but unwilling to admit to feeling unequal to either challenge.

Tony glanced at her for a moment longer obviously not the least bit convinced before suggesting that they find a seat. Escorting her to the nearest pew, he sat alongside her in comfortable silence for the duration of the proceedings, allowing her to deal with the situation on her on terms.

…

_6:35pm_

The buzz of the intercom brought Michelle's gaze to the clock on the bottom of her monitor in surprise. It was time for their date. She'd settled in front of her computer after arriving home from George's funeral to distract herself from the conflicting emotions of grief and sorrow at his fate, and a mixture of joy and anxiousness at hers. It had worked too effectively as she had yet to change for her date with Tony.

"Hi, Tony. Come on up," she responded hitting the door release before he could suggest that she meet him downstairs. She walked hastily across to her wardrobe, undressing as she went. Scanning its contents, she quickly picking out a long, flowing skirt and her favourite sleeveless silk top. She had just finished the last button when her doorbell sounded; stepping into a pair of sandals, she grabbed a jacket and made her way to the front door. With a quick glance in the mirror to confirm that the make-up she had applied earlier was still in place, she opened the door with a smile.

"Hi," Michelle greeted Tony. Dressed in jeans, causal shirt and a leather jacket, he looked considerable more relaxed than in the dark business suits and shirts he wore to CTU. And a hell of a lot more attractive.

"Hi," Tony replied, smiling warmly at her as he added, "you're looking stunning."

Blushing slightly, Michelle vetoed the idea of confessing that she had spent a whole three minutes preparing for their date. Instead she did a quick mental check that her apartment was not in a state of complete chaos before responding, "Thanks, I just have to turn off my computer and grab my bag; why don't you step inside for a moment."

Ushering him inside, she left him in her large open-plan living room while she ducked back into her room to complete her tasks.

"So where are we going?" she enquired rejoining him a minute later.

"You'll find out," Tony replied.

Determined not to give Tony the satisfaction of engaging her curiosity, Michelle decided to forego the twenty questions routine.

"OK, I'm set. Let's go."

"We'll be dining _al fresco_ so you'll need a warm jacket," he instructed.

Patting the knit jacket she had draped over her handbag, she commented, "Are you implying that you'll be shying away from your gentlemanly duty to offer me your jacket?"

"I prefer to stick to the acts of chivalry that don't require me to freeze," Tony teased back, opening the apartment door for her with a flourishing gesture. Once downstairs, Tony opened the passenger's side door of his black SUV for her. Despite his earlier joke, Michelle had noted on previous occasions that he always extended this curtesy. She had never really crystallised her stance on the chivalry issue but the confidence with which Tony performed such actions tended to encourage compliance. Despite being strong and independent, Michelle was still a woman and enjoyed attentive gestures.

"So who was responsible for training you in the art of chivalry?" Michelle asked when Tony had walked around to the drivers seat.

Looking across at her with a smirk, he responded sarcastically, "Just one of the many virtues I was born with."

"Modesty too," she added.

With a laugh, he continued, "and a great sense of humour. Actually, my dad's pretty old-fashioned so I grew up assuming it was the norm."

"You're parents live in Chicago, right?" Michelle asked. Despite working with Tony for nearly eighteen months, she knew very few details of his personal life. Their conversations rarely drifted from work-related topics and on the occasions that they did, their discussions were extremely trivial in both content and length. Knowing his history with Nina, she understood the reason he guarded his personal life and was careful not to force the issue. Anyway, he was one of the few people with whom she could have an in-depth discussion about work and computers so she was content with the situation. But now, she was ready to indulge her curiosity.

…

_7:10 pm_

Thirty minutes later the conversation had progressed from families through their childhoods to their respective degrees. As Tony parked alongside Lancox Park, Michelle guessed that she had learnt more about him in short drive than in the year and a half she had worked with him. Collecting a large backpack from the backseat, Tony walked around to join Michelle.

"I don't suppose there is any point in asking where we are going?" she enquired.

"Lancox Park," came the sarcastic reply as he placed his right hand just above her left elbow to guide her along the path. The sensation of his hand on her skin was enough to divert Michelle from any thoughts on continuing her current line of questioning. A couple of minutes later she had her answer anyway; walking through the park they had arrived at the amphitheatre.

"I've heard about 'Moonlight Cinema;' you sit outside on the grass and watch a movie," she commented. As she spoke Tony's earlier statement came to mind, "So I guess you're providing the _al fresco_ dining?"

With a smile, Tony patted his backpack, "I've arranged a five star à la carte menu for your dining pleasure."

As they walked into the entrance marque, Michelle checked out the screening information; tonight's feature was _The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert_. The title was familiar but she wasn't able to recall any details about the film which was rare; she was quite a film bluff and was usually good with her movie trivia. The cinema was her favourite escape from the stresses of her job and after this afternoon she could certainly use the distraction. Tony directed her to the internet booking line as he fished a printout of the confirmation receipt from his jacket pocket.

"This was more interesting than that report for Chappelle," he commented with a smile.

"I'm not sure Ryan would agree, especially if he knew who you were going with," she replied seriously.

Looking across at her, he stated softly, "Don't worry about it; it isn't his or anyone else at work's business what we do on our own time. Anyway, as you saw for yourself last week, Ryan's only interest is keeping Hammond and the rest of the top brass happy."

Nodding, Michelle decided that he was probably right; as long as they kept their personal life out of the office there shouldn't be a problem. And it was also possibly far too early in their relationship to be worrying about such details. Deciding that they needed a lighter topic of conversation she asked, "So what's the movie about?"

"You haven't seen it?" he asked rhetorically, "It's a great Australian comedy about a group of drag queens from Sydney who take this road trip through the middle of the desert. It has some amazing scenery, incredible costumes and these crazy Australian accents."

"It won the Oscar for Best Costume in '95 right?" Michelle asked as it suddenly clicked where she had heard the title before.

"No idea, I rented it from the video store a couple of years back and really enjoyed it. I thought it would be great to watch on the big screen and we could both certainly use a laugh right about now. How's this spot?" he asked pointing out a patch of grass at a reasonable viewing distance from the scene.

"Great. Did you remember a blanket?" she asked looking down at her light-coloured skirt. Squatting down and opening his backpack, Tony responded while removing the aforementioned item, "You don't mean to suggest that I would forget important operational details." After spreading out the blanket, he then proceeded to pull out a self-inflating camp sleeping mat.

"May I enquire as to the mission objective?"

Flopping down on the mat, he indicated for her to join him before answering, "That's need-to-know information." Settling onto the surprising comfortable mat, Michelle tried again, "Am I allowed to ask what's for dinner?"

"Yes, I think you'll find that you can."

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head at Tony and his smirk, she nevertheless watched as he began to pull a mountain of Tupperware containers out of his pack. He hadn't been joking about the five star menu; the spread included a range of cold cuts, every imaginable marinated vegetable, several different styles of salads and dips, as well as a loaf of crusty bread. Handing her a plastic plate and cutlery, he asked "Red or white?"

"You brought wine?" At this point she wasn't really sure why she was surprised by this fact; he'd obviously thought of all the details. "I prefer red, thanks."

"I have a great Pinot Noir with an intense cherry flavour; it's an Australian wine to get into the spirit of the film."

"You spent way too much time planning this date," she teased although rather flattered that he considered her worth all the attention.

Shrugging he replied, "Better than mediating what happened last week." Handing across a plastic wine cup, he enquired, "How are you holding out?"

Accepting the wine, she averted her eyes slightly while answering, "I'm fine."

Looking at her intently with the same look of disbelief as when she'd given this same response at George's funeral earlier, he gently placed down his wine and reached across to cup her face. Forcing her to meet his gaze, he uttered, "Do me a favour Michelle, if you don't want to talk about something or it's none of my business then say so but don't lie to me. Especially since you lie so badly", he added awkwardly in an attempt to lighten the situation but which only served to stress its solemness.

Meeting his intense gaze, Michelle could feel the pain of Nina's betrayal, and it sparked a desire to elevate his sorrow. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to deceive you. I'm just afraid that if I admit to all the pain, even to myself, I wont be able to deal with it", she confessed.

Moving his hand from her face to around her shoulders he pulled her closer towards himself while stating, "Yes you could, you're the strongest, most capable person I know."

"Yeah, that's why I ended up crying in your arms in the middle of a hallway," she responded disparagingly.

"An eminent nuclear threat that you couldn't warn your family about, a bombing that killed thirty colleagues, watching Paula sacrificed for intel, seeing George deteriorate, working with the woman who ruined your brother's life, dealing with my stubborn, intimidating attitude while being forced to conspire with Jack. Not exactly your average, stress-free workday."

Although unable to think of anything else but these events for the past week, the enormity of the list, even discounting Tony's dripping sarcasm, was almost traumatic. With a soft sigh she commented, "It just seems like too much to cope with."

"It is. Just like enduring 24 hours from hell to save a city of 10 million from a nuclear bomb and thousands more from a groundless war. I also felt overwhelmed with fear and doubt that day, unfortunately I channelled my emotions into fighting, and losing, against you and Jack. "

"Jack certainly flattened you," she teased, deciding that they both could use a moment's respite.

"I'm pleased that someone can derive enjoyment from my misery," he grumbled jokingly. "Have some dinner; my mom, who also has the annoying tendency to be right, always says that things are better on a full stomach."

…

_11:21 pm_

As they arrived back at Michelle's apartment, she was saddened at the thought that their evening together was over. After their respective emotional confessions, and aided by the wine, they had spent much of the time before the film discussing the past week while eating their way though the veritable feast in front of them. It had been a great relief for each to talk about the pain, fear and guilt associated with those events and by the time the movie started a considerable weight was lifted from their shoulders. Snuggled against Tony's chest with an enormous bag of caramel popcorn, Michelle had greatly enjoyed laughing lightheartedly thought the hilariously funny film.

"I had a wonderful time tonight."

Turning in his seat to face her, Tony replied, "Me too. We have to do this again sometime. Real soon", he added softly leaning in to kiss her.

Five breathless minutes later, they said their goodbyes and Tony watched Michelle safely enter her apartment complex before driving off feeling the most alive and happy he had been in a very long time.

…

**A/N:** If my subtle references to Michelle's beginnings at CTU have made you curious, you'll find all the details to sate your curiosity in my previous story, 'Initiation by Fire'.


	2. It’s a fine line between pleasure & pain

**Setting:** This chapter continues five days after Tony and Michelle's first date.

**Disclaimer: **The Divinyls' song which lent this chapter its' title does not belong to me, and considering my singing (in)ability this is most probably a good thing!

_It's a fine line between pleasure & pain._

_Thursday 9:45 am_

"Ryan, you bastard," Tony uttered in disgust as he re-read the latest e-mail directive from his immediate superior. Leaning back in his chair, he cast his eyes up at the ceiling and sighed as if requesting some kind of divine intervention. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation was that Ryan's order, as untimely and unnecessary as it was, would need to be followed. Despite being aware that Paula's funeral was later this morning and would result in a couple of lost work hours, Ryan had requested a copy of the draft of the CTU restructuring report right away. At present, the document still required at least ten hours of work-up.

Refocusing his gaze down to Michelle's workstation, Tony decided to concentrate on the positive side of the situation: he would need to enlist her assistance to complete the report. A full day of bureaucratic paperwork sounded so much more palatable if it allowed him to work with Michelle. And with Paula's funeral today, he was happy to have some company, especially someone who could understand and empathise with his pain. Paula's death had been particularly difficult for Tony, not just because he had personally recruited her to CTU, but because even though it had been George who made the impossible decision, Tony agreed with him. Shaking his head to clear these depressing thoughts, he reached for the phone.

"Dessler."

"Michelle, it's Tony. Ryan's requested the restructuring report immediately so I'm going to need your assistance for the rest of the day. Transfer all of your active protocols to Adam."

"With Paula's funeral at 11, today is going to be hectic enough without any additional workload," Michelle replied, turning sidewards to look up at Tony.

"Yeah, Ryan couldn't have picked a worse day to double our workload. However, we should have enough time to review the current status of the report and outline what we need to complete before the funeral," Tony replied softly.

"I'll bring Adam up to speed and be there in about five minutes."

Hanging up her receiver, Michelle continued to look at Tony with a slight frown. The sarcastic defiance with which he usually responded to Division's unrealistic demands, even if he ultimately complied, had been replaced with an uncharacteristic acceptance. Watching his stoic expression as he sat in front of his computer working, Michelle was worried; she knew that he felt personally responsible for Paula's death. Turning her own attention to her monitor, she quickly transferred all current search protocols onto the appropriate sub-directory and headed over to Adam's workstation to brief him on the situation. Given the amount of work still left to complete on the report, she would have plenty of time to delve into how Tony was coping.

Entering his office minutes later, she demanded, "Why does Ryan want the restructuring report a week before the status meeting at Division?"

"It appears that Division is considering some internal CTU department restructuring; Ryan wants to review a draft of the report before making a final decision," Tony replied looking up from his screen. "I've pulled up the report outline and working draft; it looks like we're in for a long day."

Grabbing a chair, Michelle took a seat alongside him at his desk. He reached up to adjust the monitor angle slightly and the two of them reviewed the task in front of them. Twenty minutes later, with a clearer idea of what remained to be done, they rose to attend Paula's funeral. Tony, not wanting to be left alone with his thoughts, suggested going together to allow them the chance to continue discussing the report.

They proceeded to discuss various aspects of the report and ten minutes into the trip, they had covered all necessary items. Unfortunately identifying all the work that needed to be completed was the easy part of the task; they were in for a lot of work on their return to CTU. After the absurd hours they had worked last week, Michelle was peeved that Ryan could justify asking them to complete yet another preposterous task.

"Did Ryan explain what internal restructuring plans he needed the report for so urgently? It would be nice to know that we're killing ourselves to get this report done for a valid reason," Michelle asked, trying to understand the situation.

"I received a brief e-mail directive from Ryan this morning stating that Division was considering restructuring the departmental division at CTU and that in order to make a final decision he would require the draft restructuring report before 6 am tomorrow. He's scheduled a meeting at 8:30 am to discuss that decision. That's all I know"

"Did you call Ryan to clarify the situation?"

"Ryan's more a chain-of-command guy. If he wanted to explain the situation, he could have done it in his e-mail. The only probable outcome from calling would be me losing my temper, and I'm really not in the mood for a pointless argument today."

While Michelle grudgingly agreed with Tony's assessment, it was out of character for him and served to remind her that she needed to broach the subject of Paula's death. However, before she could frame the question, Tony beat her to the punch.

"How are you coping?" he asked, briefly glancing across at her.

"Miserable, depressed, guilty… _yourself_?" Michelle answered with blunt honesty.

Despite being convinced that nothing could get as much as a smile from him today, Tony couldn't suppress a grin at Michelle's candid response.

"About the same," he conceded.

Glancing at her again he continued, "We'll survive this, just like we survived that day. And as hard as it is to deal with being the survivors, those who didn't make it wouldn't want as wasting our lives."

"Do something that makes you happy," Michelle commented softly, speaking more to herself then Tony.

"Come again?"

Although they had discussed the events of that day in length during their date, Michelle hadn't told Tony about George's advice. She hadn't been ready to share that moment. But now was the right time. Tony, even with all his conviction, also needed to come to terms with the fact that while the quantity of time he spent on this earth was not under his control, the quality of it was.

Listening intently as Michelle related her story, Tony replied, "As much as I hate to admit it, George's ideas were usually right on the mark. He was certainly right about you."

"If it had been your decision, I would never have been hired, would I?"

"No. Just like I decided not to support Jack's mission to check the authenticity of the Cyprus reading… and I was wrong on both counts. I guess I have to settle for only being right 99 of the time."

"So I guess that makes you Mr almost-Perfect," teased Michelle.

A smile slowly crept across Tony's face despite his best efforts to restrain it.

"Does that mean that you have to lower your standards?" he enquired.

Laughing out loud, Michelle suggested, "Maybe you'll just have to lift your game."

"I'll see what I can do."

The next thirty minutes passed quickly as they chatted about light-hearted topics, both determined not to wallow in their misery. Yet upon arrival at the cemetery the mood darkened once again. Watching Tony collect his suit jacket from the backseat, Michelle could feel his suffocation that had nothing to do with shirt buttons he had done up. Walking into the chapel together, they joined their colleagues and as they had done for George's funeral sat beside each other offering the silent support of their presence.

After expressing their condolences to Paula's family, they left the cemetery to return to CTU. Once they were on road, Michelle reached out and held Tony's hand. The gesture, the same one as on that day when they were locked in the holding room, symbolised their joint determination to overcome the challenges before them. It was a sign that together they could amount to more than the sum of their individual actions.

…

_10:05 pm_

Dropping what seemed like the four hundredth revision of the draft report onto the desk, Michelle glanced at Tony, who was still intently scanning his copy of the report for errors. A minute later he turned slightly to face her and stated, "Two typos, one grammatical error and a missing hyperlink; what did you find?"

Michelle quickly pointed out the mistakes she had noted, and the final corrections were made. While Tony sent the report to Ryan, Michelle stood up and stretched; she had been at CTU for fourteen hours now and was more then ready to call it quits for the day.

"OK, we're all done. And I promise tomorrow will be a normal nine hour workday, even if I have to kill Ryan for that to happen," Tony informed her.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Michelle responded with a smile as she moved to begin clearing Tony's desk, which was littered with paperwork and the remnants of their take-out dinner.

"Just toss the take-out containers in the trash; I'll file all the paperwork tomorrow," Tony commented as he logged off the CTU network and began to shutdown his computer.

Ready to go, they headed out to the parking lot together, and Tony walked Michelle to her car. Despite being exhausted from his drawn-out workday, or maybe because of it, Tony wasn't eager to return home to his quiet apartment.

"I don't suppose you're interested in grabbing a coffee; I think I need a wind-down before heading home," Tony suggested to Michelle as she unlocked her car.

"Actually, I'm in the mood for ice-cream and it just so happens that I have all the ingredients to make my world-famous chocolate brownie ice-cream sundae," Michelle replied turning to Tony with an enthusiastic smile.

"I'm certainly not going to turn down an offer like that; I'll follow you home," Tony replied, titling his head to indicate his own vehicle parked a couple of metres away.

Thirty-five minutes later, Michelle was preparing her favourite dessert as Tony sat watching from the island bar. Never having mastered cooking, she had instead become highly skilled at assembling pre-made ingredients; sandwiches and desserts were her forte. Taking the chocolate brownie she'd purchased from the local bakery from the freezer, she cut up precise squares and placed them in the bowls. Much trial and error had gone into determining the 90 seconds microwave time required to heat the brownies to the perfect temperature. Two scoops of Ben & Jerry's _Cookie Dough_ ice cream followed, and then the sundaes were topped with lavish servings of chocolate sauce and Baileys Irish Cream, her favourite liqueur.

Watching a Michelle added a somewhat overgenerous amount of Baileys to the sundaes, Tony asked, "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Do I need to?" Michelle replied with a raised eyebrow.

_Hell, no_ was the first thought that came to Tony's mind, but he certainly wasn't going to answer that. "Depends on what you had in mind," he countered.

She could definitely think of a few ideas but settled for the conservative one, "You and me curled up on the couch with our desserts." Handing Tony one of the bowls, she heading into the living room without awaiting his response; she had no doubt he would agree. In fact, she was fairly sure he would have had no objections to what she had really wanted to suggest.

Entering the living room, Michelle kicked off her shoes and settled into the couch. Balancing his dessert, Tony sat alongside Michelle, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to secure her snugly against his left side. They sat cuddled together and ate their sundaes in comfortable silence, simply enjoying one another's company after their exhausting day.

"Definitely in the running for world's best sundae," Tony praised, scraping the last of his dessert from the bowl.

Smiling, Michelle collected his bowl and made a move to rise and head into the kitchen, but was stopped by Tony tightening his arm under her shoulder. Taking both bowls from her hands, he placed him on the coffee table and pulled her firmly into his embrace.

"Stay," he requested softly.

Nestling contentedly against his chest, Michelle was only too happy to comply, especially when he began to run his hand up and down her back; the gentle pressure of his fingertips sent tingles through her body.

Closing his eyes and resting back against the couch, Tony felt all the stress and angst of the day being replaced with a happiness that the woman in his arms brought into his life.

"I think I could easily spend the night like this," he quietly informed her.

Moving ever so slightly in his arms, Michelle brought her lips to the crook of his neck, placing a couple of soft kisses there before whispering in his ear, "I can think of somewhere more comfortable to spend the night."

Opening his eyes, Tony locked gaze with Michelle confirming the invitation which he had not intended to elicit but certainly wasn't going to reject. He could see the desire he was feeling mirrored in her eyes and seizing the moment, he leaned down and kissed her.

…

_6:30 am_

Michelle woke to the latest traffic report and the warmth and comfort of Tony's arms around her. Taking a few minutes to savour the moment, she turned to face him. Tony had stirred slightly when the radio alarm had come on, and again when Michelle had shifted but he remained lying on his side, eyes firmly closed. Gently stroking his stubbly check, she softly called his name. Receiving only a faint grumble in reply, Michelle reached the conclusion that Tony obviously wasn't a morning person and decided to try a different approach; leaning in, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. Without bothering to open his eyes, Tony reciprocated with a long, passionate kiss which was infinitely more pleasant than waking up to an alarm clock. Finally conceding to peel open his eyes for the morning, Tony squinted blearily in Michelle's direction.

"Morning," he uttered softly, still sounding more asleep than awake.

"Good morning," Michelle replied, with a bright smile.

"You'll need to get moving so you have time to stop by your apartment and change for work," she pointed out, unsure how capable of rational thought he was in his current semi-conscious state.

Rubbing his face and blinking a couple of times, Tony replied, "or I could just turn up in the same outfit as yesterday and let them all speculate."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, especially since you're meeting with Ryan his morning."

"Thanks for that reminder," Tony grumbled. "I refuse to think about work before coffee." Getting out of bed, Tony recalled that all his clothes were still scattered around Michelle's living room so instead he pulled the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around his waist like a towel.

"You want some?" he asked Michelle.

"Sure. I'm just going to have a quick shower and dress for work. Everything you need is in the kitchen; make yourself at home," Michelle commented, smiling at the image of Tony wearing her bedsheet.

Entering the kitchen half an hour later, Michelle found Tony fully dressed and seated at the island bar sipping a coffee. Beside him, a coffee and toasted bagel was laid out waiting for her. Noting the empty plate in front of him, she deduced that he had already eaten.

"You found everything OK?" she asked, sitting down to eat.

"Yeah, I'm impressed that you have a kitchen full of food that only requires heating," he stated sarcastically.

"I don't cook," Michelle confessed.

"Obviously. I know it can be a pain to cook for one, especially after a long day at work, but I honestly can't understand how you can live off that over-processed excuse for food."

"Let me correct that previous statement: I _can't_ cook."

"Let me get this straight. You can manage a computer network and run multifaceted search protocols, but you can't put together a dozen ingredients to make a pasta sauce?" Tony responded in surprise.

"My mom never cooked so I never learned. When I was living with my best friend Andy, she used to cook but these days I settle for the ready-to-eat foods. It's quick and easy, and some of them aren't so bad."

"Remind me to say that I'm busy when you ask me to dinner at your place," Tony commented, not the least bit convinced by Michelle's endorsement.

Deciding that two could play at this game, Michelle responded, "Well you've already promoted me, so your cooking ability is about the only reason to sleep with you."

Smiling, Tony reached across and pulled her close to him, "In that case, how about dinner at my place tonight? I'll cook anything that takes your fancy."

"I can be demanding," teased Michelle.

"So can I," Tony responded kissing her. "I've got to get going. See you soon."

"See ya."

…

_8:05 am_

"Michelle, have you seen Tony this morning?"

Looking up from the overnight report on her screen, Michelle met Ryan's gaze.

"His car is here, but I don't know where he is at the moment," Michelle replied, keeping her answer brief but honest.

"I'll be in his office. See if you can locate him," Ryan directed.

"Of course, Mr Chappelle," Michelle answered, picking up her phone and dialling Tony's cell phone.

"Almeida."

"Tony, it's Michelle. Ryan's here and he's waiting for you in your office."

"What? He's almost half an hour early. I'm just grabbing a coffee; tell him I'm on my way up."

Hanging up with Tony, Michelle patched into the intercom on Tony's office phone and informed Ryan that Tony was on his way. As she was passing on this message, Tony walked through the bullpen, his Cubs mug in hand, hair still wet from his morning shower.

"Ryan, you're early," Tony stated entering his office.

"And you're late Almeida… and by all appearances just rolled out of bed."

"I like to run before work; I showered here before my shift. Which, by the way, I started early. If you had let me know you were coming before our scheduled meeting, I would have had someone direct you to IT, where I was helping Chen with a patch for an interim packet loss problem with the infrared satellite stream. So are you ready to fill me in on your internal restructuring plans?"

"If you wish to remain director you better learn to watch that sarcasm. Now I've reviewed the report and for the most part agree with your proposals; however, we've decided to divide CTU into intelligence operations and field operations. This will provide in-house reinforcement in case of future internal losses. As CTU's director, you'll run intelligence and coordinate with field ops, which we're planning on handing over to Jack Bauer. Given that you've already demonstrated an ability to work alongside Bauer, I'm assuming that you won't have a problem with his appointment."

"Jack's the best there is at field ops; I'll be happy to have him on board. Has he agreed to take the position?" Tony enquired.

"I've asked him to come in at 8:30 to discuss this proposal. In the interim, I'd like to go over some of the details with you."

Twenty minutes later, security called to inform Tony that Jack was on his way into CTU. Hanging up with the guard, Tony contacted Michelle and informed her that Jack was on his way in to discuss returning to work and that she should sit in on the meeting. Another forty minutes passed as the Tony, Michelle and Jack discussed the restructuring of CTU with Ryan and agreed upon the necessary changes. Once all details were finalised, Ryan left immediately for Division.

Tony turned towards Jack and commented, "It will be good to have you back at CTU, Jack. You're sure you're okay to start next week?"

"I'm fine; I've had Kim and the doctors fussing over me for the last week now. I'll be happy for an excuse to get out of the house," Jack replied with a smile. "How's the ankle?"

"Okay. It was just a minor sprain; I was off crutches within a couple of days," Tony replied sheepishly. Averting his gaze from Jack, he noticed that Michelle was unsuccessfully trying to hide a smirk and retaliated by glaring at her. Jack, an astute observer, picked up on this interaction. Realising that they had been spotted, Tony explained, "Michelle thinks it's amusing that you flattened me."

"I have considerably more combat training, and you weren't prepared to shoot me," Jack pointed out.

"Hopefully I won't regret that decision, Jack," Tony joked, before continuing, "Michelle's a trained martial artist. Half of field ops is still scared of her after she took out a couple of terrorists in hand-to-hand combat during her first week on the job."

Glancing across at Michelle in interest, Jack commented, "I might have to sign you up."

"Hey, no recruiting from my staff," Tony ordered. "We'll meet first thing Monday to brief you on all our current protocols," he stated, glancing across at Michelle, who nodded in agreement.

"OK, I'll see you guys then. Enjoy your weekend."

…

**A/N: **To all those who where hoping for more descriptive TM details, I recommend to: 'give a loose to your fancy, indulge your imagination in every possible flight which the subject will afford.' – Jane Austen, _Pride and Prejudice_


	3. Suspicions confirmed

**Setting:** This chapter continues nine days after the previous one.

**A/N:** To all those baseball fans out there…sorry!

_Suspicions confirmed_

_Sunday 12:45 pm_

"We need to start thinking about getting up if we want to be ready in time for the game," Tony commented, interrupting Michelle's reverie.

Curled up in bed, her head resting on Tony's chest and his hands gently wandering up and down her back, Michelle couldn't think of many things that would tempt her to move. And a baseball game certainly wasn't one of them. If given the choice, she would have picked a meeting with Ryan over watching grown men running around in circles. Actually, her main complaint against the game was that most of the time nothing was happening; despite many enthusiastic explanations over the years she had yet to develop an appreciation of the game. But given Tony's passion for the game, she had a feeling that she was going to have to learn.

"Michelle, you awake?"

"No," she replied lifting her head slightly, meeting his gaze as he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, time for a shower. I'll help you scrub those hard-to-reach places," he offered.

Deciding that a hot shower with Tony might begin to compensate for a boring afternoon of baseball, Michelle slipped out of bed and followed him into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and tee-shirts, Tony's bearing the Chicago Cubs logo, they made their way into the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Tony asked as he walked across to fridge and began pulling out sandwich ingredients.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure why after that huge breakfast," Michelle replied. Tony had surprised Michelle with an amazing breakfast in bed that morning, a luxury she had greatly enjoyed. However, she suspected that his actions were influenced by a desire to keep her in bed. Not that she was necessarily complaining about that. In fact, thinking back over their morning she could see why she was hungry, and judging from the smirk on Tony's face his thoughts were following the same path.

"Well if you're going to keep feeding me, it makes sense that you have to help burn off the calories," Michelle teased.

"I can live with that," Tony replied with a sly grin. Pulling out a chopping board, he continued, "Now, would I be challenging your culinary skills if I asked you to cut up some salad for the sandwiches?"

Raising an eyebrow at his comment, Michelle decided that retaliation was necessary even though if it was an accurate assessment. Walking silently to the kitchen bench, she pulled the largest knife from its holder. Turning to face Tony, she used the few seconds this movement took to fluidly spin the knife around so the handle was covertly gripped in her palm and the blade pointed out from behind her forearm.

"Careful, if you don't behave yourself you might lose an appendage or two," Michelle warned, punctuating her comment with a stabbing attack aimed to look intimidating although remaining a safe distance away.

Watching her move Tony immediately acknowledged her excellent knife handling skills, as a weapon at any rate, and opted for acquiescing. Raising both hands in surrender, Tony responded, "I yield."

Laughing, Michelle began to chop vegetables as she enquired, "So all I have to do to get you to fold is some mild intimidation?"

Looking at Michelle, relaxed and enjoying herself, Tony thought to himself that just asking would be sufficient but decided against giving her that power. Anyway, he couldn't let such an attack on his masculinity go unchecked.

"Anytime you're interested in some hand-to-hand combat, I'll be happy to pin you down."

"You boys and your one track minds," Michelle responded rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I consider sport at least as important as sex."

After giving a quick thought to whether this path might get her out of watching the game, Michelle proceeded to veto this idea, not sure she could handle the rejection. Instead she slid the chopped vegetables across to Tony who assembled their sandwiches and began returning everything to the fridge.

"You want a beer?" he enquired pulling out one for himself.

"No thanks."

Watching Michelle crinkle her nose slightly while responding, Tony asked, "Not a beer fan?"

"I'd rather drink paint stripper."

"I can arrange that," Tony joked walking out of the kitchen and inclining his head for Michelle to follow him. Entering his small laundry room, Michelle watched as he opened the cupboard under the sink. Instead of the expected collection of household chemicals, including the aforementioned paint stripper, she saw a large, well-stocked wine rack.

"You prefer reds, right?" Tony asked. "I have a couple of mellow Pinots I've been aging or if you prefer something stronger, I have a robust Napa Valley Merlot."

"I usually just order the house red," Michelle commented, completely lost and slightly surprised at Tony's wine knowledge.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Tony studied his collection for a moment before selecting a bottle.

"OK, we'll start you wine education with a light Pinot Noir."

Returning to the kitchen, Tony uncorked the bottle and poured a small amount into a wine glass. Handing the glass over to Michelle, he instructed her, "OK, step one, gently swirl the glass to allow the wine to breathe. Step two, hold the glass on an angle to look at the colour and clarity. Step three, smell the wine. Then comes step four, the taste test."

After swirling her glass and confirming that the red wine was indeed red, she smelt the wine feeling rather stupid. As she inhaled she was surprised to find that the wine had a very pleasant, fruity aroma; taking a sip, she found the fruit flavours she had just smelt were noticeable in the wine.

"OK, I think I've got a mild berry flavour here."

"Pinots are known for their fruity flavours. That one is an '04 so it should be very mellow and drinkable at this point. Happy with it?"

"Yeah. You going to be sharing it with me?"

"No way, it's an unwritten rule that baseball games must be accompanied by beer," Tony stated as he filled her glass. "I'll have a glass with you at dinner; it will go well with the empanadas I'm making."

Setting the bottle down on the bench, he collected the plate of sandwiches and his beer.

"Let's go. The pre-game commentary is about to start."

Michelle opted to take another sip of her wine, rather than attempt to express any excitement at this prospect. The only thing more boring than the baseball game itself was the never-ending, mundane chatter of the commentators.

Setting the food down on the coffee table, Tony grabbed the remote and settled himself on the couch. Turning to Michelle, who had sat beside him, he stated, "OK, the rules are as follows. Talking during the game is strictly prohibited. If you're interested, I'll be happy to explain the game during the breaks."

A slightly pained look crossed his face as he added, "However, if you prefer, the LA Times is on the side table."

"How do you know I'm not a baseball fan?"

"The LA Lakers are a basketball team, Michelle," Tony replied, referring to Michelle's earlier attempt at discussing the upcoming game with him.

"OK, you got me. I'm just going to grab a pen for the crossword and I'll be right back," she informed him. An afternoon of doing the weekend puzzles and reading the paper curled up beside Tony was definitely sounding better than pretending to watch the game.

…

_5:15 pm_

Just as the ninth innings started, the phone rang. Casting a malevolent glance in its direction, Tony reached across and answered, "Yeah."

"Tony, it's Jack."

"What's up, Jack?" Tony enquired trying not to sound as disinterested as he was currently feeling. Over the past week, he and Jack had been slowly rebuilding their working relationship. They would be working side-by-side a large part of the time so they needed to get along well, especially considering that stressful situations were part of the norm at CTU. Tony was also hoping that they would end up as friends. Previous conflicts aside, he both trusted and respected Jack, and it would be nice to have someone to actually _watch_ a game with.

"I'm working up a thread relating to an Indonesian terrorist group. Our databases have very little information about the group so I'm trying to synch in with ASIO's (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) database but I keep running into compatibility problems. I was hoping you could stop by CTU for a couple of hours and help out."

"With ASIO's formatting requirements, it's necessary to filter the search protocol input and output datastreams. It's a time consuming process Jack; can this wait until Monday?"

"I'd rather move on this now while all the details are fresh in my mind. And if we need to get in touch with the Australians, we'll want to do it in the next couple of hours since it's Monday morning there right now. Did I catch you in the middle of something?"

"It's Sunday afternoon Jack; I'm watching the game on TV with a beer and my girlfriend.

Look, my place is about 10 minutes from CTU; why don't you put all the intel you have on an externally accessible directory and come over in about an hour? We can set up the search protocols and have some dinner while they're running. Unless you already have plans?"

"No, Kim's away for the weekend so I was just going to grab some take-out on the trip home. Are you sure I'm not intruding?"

"No. I'm apartment 5D, 54 Willows Rd. I'll see you in an hour, Jack."

"See you Tony."

Hanging up the phone, Tony redirected his attention back to the TV while commenting to Michelle, "I guess you caught that?"

"Yeah. Am I allowed to talk during the game?" she teased.

Casting Michelle a quick glance before returning his gaze on the game, Tony answered somewhat despondently, "Yeah, I don't think my boys are going to take it home."

Michelle forced herself to refrain from commenting; Tony's loyalty to his beloved Chicago Cubs, despite their abysmal losing streak, was kind of sweet.

"Are you going to stay for dinner?" Tony continued.

"I don't know. How's Jack going to react to us dating?"

"Honestly, I can't tell you; Jack's not an easy person to read. But he's going to find out sooner or later and this is as good a time as any to convince him that this relationship is not going to affect our work. Also I'm going to need some help juggling dinner and writing the script for the search filters."

"So what you're saying is that you want me to work on my Sunday night to allow you to potter around in the kitchen?" Michelle surmised.

"Well if you prefer, I can do the programming and you can cook," Tony countered.

Before Michelle could come up with a suitable response, Tony groaned and gestured at the TV.

"Did you see that? My four year old niece could have caught that!" he wailed.

"Unbelievable," Michelle agreed picking back up the newspaper, deciding to postpone this discussion until after the game.

Twenty minutes later, the game ended with a 6-2 defeat. Tony flicked off the TV and turned his attention to Michelle who was intently reading the film reviews with a smile on her face.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself there," he commented.

"Just enjoying the film reviews; they're always written with enough sarcasm and cynicism to make them more entertaining than most of the films they're reviewing."

"I'm pleased that you can see the value of sarcasm," Tony replied, well aware of his own extravagant use of it. "Did you enjoy your afternoon?"

"Yeah, I did. I can't remember the last time I took a whole afternoon to relax and read the paper from cover to cover. And I could get used to having my own personal attendant to keep the supply of wine and food flowing," she added with a smile.

"The bill's in the mail. And just so you know, I charge double on Sundays," Tony teased back. He had also passed a pleasant afternoon. Certainly his team's performance could have been better but he'd enjoyed the game nevertheless. And while slightly disappointed at Michelle's complete lack of interest in the game, she had at least been silent for its duration.

"So have you decided to stay for dinner? My home-made empanadas using the traditional family recipe are second to none," Tony informed Michelle.

"I guess I can't refuse an offer like that," Michelle replied, still not completely sure that she was ready to deal with going public about her relationship with Tony, especially to a colleague she barely knew. Seeing that Tony was studying her reaction intently, she elaborated, "Once Jack finds out, I'm going to go from your Chief of Staff to your girlfriend."

Continuing to meet her gaze, Tony took a second to collect his thoughts; he understood Michelle's position having been in the same situation when dating Nina. To be honest, he had never really reconciled his feelings on the matter but then it was a stretch to consider his liaison with Nina a relationship.

"Look Michelle, I want this— us— to work but we have to face certain facts. I am your boss and there will always be people who think that you are sleeping your way to the top. But Jack won't be one of them. He was there on the day of the nuclear threat to see firsthand what an incredibly dedicated, strong and highly capable agent you are. Which, for the record, is why I promoted you."

"I guess you're right," Michelle conceded before adding, "And I suppose there are worse things than being your girlfriend."

"Hey, you should feel honoured," Tony rebutted leaning in for a quick kiss before getting up from the couch to start clearing the dishes from the coffee table.

"Come on, seeing as you _have_ proven yourself handy with a knife, you can help with dinner," Tony commented as he headed for the kitchen. Stacking the dirty dishes in the sink, Tony started pulling out the necessary ingredients for dinner as Michelle sat herself down in front of the island bar to watch. Once he had everything he needed, Tony took out his apron. Noticing Michelle smirking, he explained, "The apron works like an anti-jinx to prevent me from wearing half the flour."

"Kind of like hanging your laundry outside guarantees that it's going to rain," Michelle quipped.

"Something like that," Tony agreed as he washed and dried his hands in preparation for making the dough. Ready, he began to measure out the ingredients onto the bench.

"Trying to get out of washing a bowl?" Michelle questioned, surprised at Tony's action.

"The secret to making dough is to knead it well and you can't do that in a bowl; anyway marble is one of the best surfaces for kneading."

Proceeding to mix the ingredients together, Tony continued his discourse, "Once the dough is ready, I'll put it in the fridge to settle while we organise the filling. I'm going to make meat empanadas, which have beef, olives and hard-boiled eggs, and _choclo_, which have …"

"Corn," Michelle interrupted, easily translating the Spanish word.

Tony looked up from his kneading to stare at her in surprise, "You speak Spanish?"

Michelle had never specifically mentioned this, mostly because the fact that she had minored in Spanish was written in both her CV and CIA file. She had always assumed Tony, who had been part of her interview panel as well as her immediate supervisor since day one at CTU, was aware of this fact. However she began to question this assumption a couple of days ago when Tony had received a call from his sister and had switched to Spanish mid-conversation when the topic had turned to Michelle.

"_Si_," she responded in Spanish, detailing her university studies and enjoying the rare occasion to practice her slightly rusty conversational skills.

…

_6:10 pm_

At the sound of the doorbell, Tony buzzed Jack in, quickly removed his apron and went to open the door.

"Hey Jack."

"Hi, Tony," Jack responded, "You should have come into CTU; then you wouldn't have had to see those last two runs. I can't believe Floyd missed that catch."

"Tell me about it," Tony groused in reply. "You were watching the game?"

"I had the radio commentary on while I was working," Jack explained. "The Cubs loss was a given, so I figured I might as well do something productive at the same time."

"Hey, my boys are working on that comeback. Next weekend, I'm going to have to invite you over to watch the game with me to make sure you don't head into the office and generate more work," Tony joked.

Changing the subject before he had to endure any further criticisms of his team or today's crushing loss, he continued, "Come on in. I've just put dinner in the oven. Things should be all set to kick off the search," he stated glancing across at Michelle sitting in front of the computer desk in the corner of his living room. After helping him prepare the empanada fillings, Michelle had retreated to the living room to set up for the search protocols and avoid the fiddly business of making the pastries.

"I'm ready to set up the search filters," Michelle confirmed turning to face Jack and Tony.

"Hi, Jack. What drive did you store the protocols on?" she asked, determined to keep the conversation on a subject matter she felt comfortable with.

"Hi, Michelle. I put all the intel on 7 epsilon; it has level six password encryption."

Walking across to the computer, Tony leaned across and keyed in his password, taking the occasion of their close proximity to whisper to Michelle to relax.

Focusing on the computer rather than Tony or Jack, Michelle accessed the relevant files.

"I've got the protocols. It will take me a minute to kick off the script then we can start entering the search parameters," Michelle informed Tony and Jack, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them.

"OK," Tony responded to Michelle, before turning to address Jack.

"Why don't you come through to the kitchen so we can grab a couple of extra chairs and something to drink? This could take awhile and we might as well make ourselves comfortable."

"Fine. My cardiologist still has me off alcohol but a Coke would be great if you have it," Jack replied following Tony into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Tony grabbed a Coke for Jack and emptied the remainder of the Pinot into two glasses for himself and Michelle. Task complete he looked up to find Jack studying him. Meeting his acute gaze, Tony decided that now was the time to ask the question that he'd been burning to ask since Jack first entered the apartment and took measure of the situation.

"You knew, didn't you?"

Shrugging his shoulders slightly, Jack replied, "I had my suspicions."

"You never said anything," Tony commented.

"It's not my place."

"You don't think it's a good idea," Tony surmised.

Jack shrugged wordlessly in response.

"Damn Jack, I've questioned terrorists who were more communicative than you."

A smile crossed Jack's face briefly before he commented, "Look, I'm not convinced that dating your second in command is a good move. Previous history aside, any problems between you will interfere with your work and if things don't work out you still have to face each other every day."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Tony countered, "The opposite is also true, Jack. Our relationship makes each of us stronger and more capable of working together as a team."

"I'm not trying to talk you out of this Tony. Hell, I know you well enough to know that it would be a waste of oxygen. You asked for my opinion and you got it. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong."

"Thanks," Tony awkwardly responded, pausing for a second to collect his thoughts as he rubbed his jaw. "So, uhm, no-one at CTU or Division knows about this."

"I'm not going to stand around the water cooler gossiping about it."

Nodding, Tony collected their drinks and ushered Jack, chairs in hand, back into the living room to join Michelle at the computer. The next ten minutes passed quickly as the three of them worked through the parameters to set up the search protocol. Once the input data stream was filtering, the work-related conversation ended.

"So did you get out of the office to enjoy some of the nice weather we had this weekend?" Tony asked, determined to keep the conservation light and off the topic of work, but unable to come up with anything more inspirational than _the weather_.

"I was down at Venice Beach Saturday afternoon; it's still a little chilly right now," Jack replied.

"Chilly? Typical Californian; anything below 75 and you claim its freezing."

"Snow's all well and good when you're on the mountain skiing but it doesn't belong in your backyard," Jack countered referring to Tony's Chicago upbringing.

"Well, I'm not necessarily saying that I miss shovelling the driveway, but I do like the crisp winter."

"I definitely agree with Jack, cold weather is overrated." Michelle interjected mildly.

Glancing across at Michelle, Jack commented, "Seattle isn't usually known for its tropical climate."

"No, but it's not as cold, wet and miserable year round as everyone imagines; actually summer in Seattle is very pleasant," Michelle replied, surprised that Jack had obviously taken the time to pull up her CIA profile. She, on the other hand, knew nothing about Jack. "You born here in LA?"

"Yeah, apart from some travelling with the army I've always lived here."

"The weather's great and I love the beach but the city itself is a bit too hectic, especially with the constant traffic."

"It's certainly gotten considerably worse over the years."

"You'll have to have a word with Ryan to see if we could get a couple of company choppers to avoid rush hour," Tony joked, pleased to see that his lame conversation starter had exactly worked.

Between some light conversation, a dinner of empanadas and monitoring the search protocols, the evening passed quickly and resulted in a considerable amount of data to analyse. Michelle and Tony were even successful in convincing Jack to leave the threat analysis until the next day.

As the door closed on Jack's departure, Tony turned to Michelle and commented, "That wasn't too bad."

"Not at all. Actually Jack's a nice guy… maybe I made the wrong boyfriend choice," Michelle teased.

"Given that Jack admitted he can't cook, you two wouldn't survive long as a couple," Tony joked back.

"I've managed to live this long without cooking so obviously it isn't an essential skill," Michelle replied before returning to the original subject, "Seriously though, you were right. I'm glad that I've dealt with Jack finding out, especially without all of CTU watching."

"Hey, I'm usually right," Tony replied stepping forward and pulling Michelle into his arms. "And while I'm on a roll with good advice, we should get some sleep. If Jack's intel pans out, tomorrow will be a long day."


	4. One big, happy family

**Setting: **Several weeks later

_One big, happy family _

_Thursday, 10:13am _

"You were told to immediately send the results to my screen so I can run my search protocols," Chloe stated bluntly, standing in front of Adam's desk glaring at him.

"I'll send the files as soon as I've finished writing these search parameters," Adam replied curtly, without looking up from his monitor.

"Even with you mediocre skills, it should only take you a couple of seconds to send those files. You're just holding onto them because you want to make me wait," Chloe berated him loudly.

_Not again_, Michelle thought Since starting as Jack's IP-MAN just two weeks earlier, Chloe had managed to completely rub Adam the wrong way to the point that Chloe's comment was most probably correct. Securing her computer, Michelle walked across to Adam's workstation to mediate.

"Is everything OK?" Michelle asked.

"Adam's not passing on the files I need to do my work," Chloe informed Michelle.

"I'm currently using those files and if Chloe wasn't bothering me, I'd be finished setting up my search protocols and she'd have the data by now," Adam retorted.

Suppressing a sigh, and her annoyance to having to take time out of her hectic day to deal with a couple of colleagues who were acting like six year olds, Michelle stepped back to look at them both and buy herself a minute to decide how to best handle the situation.

"Adam, I know you want to get right on those search protocols but it's important that you send a copy of the data files to Chloe first so she can also get on with her own workload. And Chloe, if you don't agree with the way Adam is doing something, you need to calmly raise the matter with him without resorting to a character debate. Now can I leave you two to work this out?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Adam nodded and commented, "I'll send those files now."

"Good, thanks," Chloe replied abruptly and turned to return to her workstation.

Michelle followed suit and was settling into her chair as her eyes caught the decorative container that she used to store change for the vending machine. It was woven from palm fronds and had been a gift from her brother Danny on his return from travelling in Thailand several years ago. The sight of it evoked an overwhelming sense of deja-vous as she remembered the constant petty arguments with her overbearing, older brother and her mother's method of mediation, which mirrored how Michelle had just managed the situation between Chloe and Adam.

Shaking her head slightly, she logged back onto her computer wondering exactly when she had starting turning into her mother. Not that this was a bad thing; Michelle respected her mother and they had a relatively close relationship despite the thousand miles separating them. In fact, her parents would be in Los Angeles this weekend for the sixth birthday party of Danny's daughter Stephanie. Michelle was looking forward to catching up with them but at the same time was slightly daunted at the prospect of introducing them to Tony, whom they knew she was currently dating. However, she at least had a fairly good idea how her parents would react; how Tony would take the whole _meet the parents_ situation worried her to the point that she had yet to mention their upcoming visit. And with less than 48 hours until their arrival, she would have to do so soon. Glancing up at his office, she saw him frantically tapping away at his computer while talking on the phone and decided, with some relief, that it would have to wait until this evening.

…

_10:21am_

Having successfully re-focused on the task at hand, Michelle found herself rather irritated to be disturbed minutes later by the ringing phone.

"CTU, Dessler," she answered sharply.

"Everything OK?" Tony asked softly.

"Yeah." Whether it was his voice or the genuine concern behind his question, Michelle felt her ire dissipate.

"I just finished talking with Hammond; he reviewed the systems upgrade report and wants the installation schedule revised so that it's tabulated by departments."

"But we already spent half a day tabulating that data by date after Chappelle reviewed the report," Michelle groused, her frustration returning instantly.

"Yeah, I mentioned that to Hammond and his response was he wanted it by department. No explanations, no apologies, just a _get it done_ order. How are you going with the interagency reports?"

"I still have at least another hour of work to do on them," Michelle replied.

"I noticed you talking with Chloe and Adam while I was on with Hammond; did something come up in the reports?"

"There were a couple of flagged items of low-level interest that I've forwarded to the appropriate people for follow up. As for Chloe and Adam, they were arguing again," Michelle explained as she turned to look up at Tony. At Jack's request, she and Tony had sat on the interview panel for the Field Ops IP-MAN. Michelle had voiced her concerns about Chloe's personality after her interview but Tony and Jack believed her superior technical skills were an asset that made her the best candidate.

"Could you ask Jack to have a word with Chloe about the importance of working together as a team?" she added, noticing Jack heading upstairs to Tony's office.

"I'll put you on speaker so you can fill us in on what happened," Tony informed her, waving Jack in.

"Hi Jack, looks like we have an on-going problem with Chloe and Adam," Tony greeted Jack as he transferred his call with Michelle onto speakerphone.

"What is it this time, Michelle?" Jack asked.

"How did you know it was me, Jack?" Michelle inquired.

"You're the obvious candidate," Jack commented as he turned slightly to meet Michelle's upward gaze, "and you always look up at Tony when you're on the phone with him."

Unsure whether Jack was simply pointing out the facts, or if he was teasing her, Michelle calmly kept his gaze as she outlined the latest conflict.

"I'll sit down with Chloe and try to get her to ease up on the snide remarks," Jack stated. "Have there been any problems with her work?"

"No," Michelle replied.

"But you're still not convinced that we should have hired her," Jack finished.

"She really doesn't interact well," Michelle explained.

"Most IT specialists don't," Jack pointed out.

"Thanks, Jack," Michelle answered sarcastically. Meanwhile Tony retaliated against Jack's stereotype with an attack in kind:

"Just like your average Field Ops agent likes to go looking for a fight."

Glancing briefly at Tony, Jack smiled and responded to Michelle, "Sorry, Michelle; I never had the pleasure of working with you. But I can tell you that my previous IP-MAN had a sarcastic retort for every order I gave him."

Rolling his eyes, Tony retorted sarcastically, "That wouldn't have had anything to do with the fact that your orders never came with any explanation or justification."

"That's because I work from my intuition," Jack answered looking across at Tony, "and it was that same instinct which told me that if we could get past our differences you'd be a real asset. Michelle, give Chloe another month to settle into the routine here and I think you'll find that I'm right about her too."

"OK, but you get to play mom next time those two start bickering," Michelle joked.

"Fine, we field agents have ways of bringing people into line."

…

_11:52am_

"Tell me you've completed the revised table," Michelle sighed as she entered Tony's office.

"Yeah, and you're a cordon bleu chef," Tony replied without taking his eyes off the screen.

"You know it's hard to roll my eyes at you if you refuse to look at me," Michelle gibed.

"I've written a program to reconstruct the table but I keep getting a script error," Tony explained as he continued to frown at his monitor. Michelle walked around his desk and looked over his shoulder

"Since you're the culinary expert, why don't you go grab us some coffee and I'll review the code?"

"I'll agree to anything if it means I don't have to keep staring at those same lines," Tony replied, ceding his chair to Michelle.

"So I should have requested something more extravagant?"

"I'll be back with coffee, then we can discuss your other demands," Tony replied with a smirk, leaving Michelle to work through the program code.

Just as she identified the suspect line of code, the phone rang.

"CTU, Dessler."

"Hello, may I speak with Tony Almeida?"

"May I ask who's calling?" Michelle requested, although based on the heavy Latino accent she was certain she already knew.

"His mother. Is this Michelle?"

"Yes," Michelle answered, surprised that Tony had obviously spoken about her in enough detail to disclose her surname.

"Don't tell me my lazy son has you answering his phone?"

"No, Mrs Almeida. He just stepped out to get some coffee."

"Please, call me Denise. Perhaps, it's better if I speak with you anyway. I'm planning a birthday party for Tina, Tony's sister, in three weeks and I'm hoping Tony will fly in for the weekend. And you too, of course. Have you ever been to Chicago?"

"No, I haven't. Tony should be back any minute," Michelle replied struggling to keep her composure, while staring desperately across the bullpen in the hope of spotting Tony.

"That's fine, I understand that with his new promotion things are busy. I've been trying to convince him to take a weekend off and come visit for the last six months; he still hasn't met his newest niece. And that's where I'm hoping you can help. Talk him into coming out to visit; we'd all like to meet you and I promise that I'll keep the family engagements down to a single afternoon tea. Chicago is a lovely city, and it will make a nice change from the stress of LA."

"Your invitation sounds great, but I think you have far too much faith in me. Apart from spending half a day catching up on work, Tony likes to keep his weekends low-key; Chicago is a long way to travel for two days."

"Michelle, from the way my son talks about you, I can assure you he'd walk bare-footed over broken glass all the way here if you asked. And between us women, that's a power you want to learn how to exercise."

"I'll keep that advice in mind, and I'll see what I can do to talk Tony around," Michelle responded, thinking that this was a woman she'd be interested in meeting. "Speaking of the devil, he just walked in. It was nice talking to you, Denise."

"You too, Michelle. I'll see you in three weeks."

"Your mom," Michelle explained, handing the phone across to a surprised Tony.

"Hola Mom. ¿Que pasa?"

Eyes on the computer monitor, Michelle made the necessary corrections to the program code, while following Tony's side of the conversation. As his mom predicted, Tony give a non-committal promise to check his schedule and get back to her.

"Sounds like you've had a productive couple of minutes; you seem to have solved my programming glitch and still had the time to make a new friend," Tony commented after hanging up the phone.

"Your mom was nice," Michelle stated.

"Runs in the family, along with charm so it seems. Mom informed me that she's sweet-talked you into the idea of heading to Chicago to meet the family who, I'm warning you in advance, are for the most part overwhelmingly neurotic."

"Does that also run in the family?" Michelle teased him hoping to lighten the mood before commencing to argue her case. "Consider it this way: we'll get to spend a completely work-free weekend together, you'll make your mom happy and you'll get your revenge on me for making you meet my parents this weekend."

"You've arranged for me to meet your parents _this_ weekend and I'm just finding out about it now?" Tony replied, dashing Michelle's hopes that he might overlook her last point.

"Well, my parents arranged the trip before we started dating, and it was only last week when we were finalising plans that they asked if I was bringing you along. I've been meaning to mention it to you all week, but I guess I was worried that I'd scare you off."

"Hey, I'm a Marine, we don't scare easily. I'll call mom this evening and let her know we're coming, and then you can fill me in on your parents and precisely what kind of interrogation methods I'll be facing on Saturday," Tony joked.

"Deal," Michelle replied with a smile.

…

_Saturday 10:55am_

Arriving at the door to Danny's apartment, Michelle turned to Tony and asked, "You ready for this, Mr. Fearless Marine?"

"Of course," Tony lied steadily. Meeting a girlfriend's parents for the first time was always an ordeal, and the apprehension behind this meeting was exacerbated by the fact that he really wanted to make a good first impression. And with that thought in mind, he would most probably achieve the opposite goal.

Seeing straight through his lie, Michelle grabbed Tony's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she rang the buzzer.

"Michelle, great to see you," Danny exclaimed as he opened the door. Entering the apartment Michelle exchanged a quick hug with her brother before turning towards Tony to make introductions. Likewise, Danny turned his attention to Tony and a look of surprise immediately crossed his face; at the same time it dawned on Michelle that they had met when Tony prevented Danny from strangling Carrie that catastrophic day at CTU.

"You're that guy who sedated me," Danny spat out in accusation.

"Danny, this is Tony Almeida, director of CTU and the guy who stopped you from doing something stupid that would have sent you straight to prison," Michelle quickly commented before Danny could begin his rant. Determined not to allow either of them to dwell on that awful day, she continued, "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"In the living room playing with the kids; come on in," Danny replied grudgingly stepping aside to allow Michelle and Tony to enter.

Michelle grabbed Tony's hand and led him into the living room. Crossing the room she greeted her parents.

"How was your trip down?" Michelle asked as she gave each of them a quick hug.

"Uneventful accept for the very early start," Michelle's mother replied. Her gaze moved across to Tony, who was standing back giving Michelle time to catch-up with her parents.

Turning slightly towards Tony, Michelle was about to make the introductions when her niece Stephanie jumped up, hugged her legs and asked, "Aunt Michelle, where's my present?"

Smiling at her niece, Michelle knelt down returned the hug and handed Stephanie a large, brightly wrapped gift from her shoulder bag. She then gave David a present in turn, so that he wouldn't be left out. A sense of ease passed through the room as everyone watched the kids gleefully tear the wrapping paper of their new toys.

Deciding to profit from the serenity, Michelle turned back to her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Tony. Tony, this is my mom Louise and my dad Steve."

"Hi," Tony uttered as he stepped forward to place a kiss on Louise's check and shake hands with Steve.

"Hello Tony, it's a real pleasure to met you," Louise answered smiling at him while her husband nodded wordlessly as he gazed at Tony in a manner that seemed to suggest he was undecided whether or not he was pleased.

Noting that both her husband and son seemed less than enamoured with Tony, Louise added warmly, "Take a seat Tony."

Tony sat down in the nearest armchair while Michelle settled herself on the arm of his chair.

"Michelle, don't sit on the arm," her brother chided.

Rolling her eyes in Danny's direction, Michelle relocated herself onto Tony's lap determined to let her brother know that required neither his approval nor opinion on her choice of boyfriend. However, despite her independent nature she still wanted both her brother and her parents to like Tony.

"How's work going?" Michelle asked her parents. Her dad was a lawyer, and her mother his legal secretary.

"Busy, we have a couple of major cases at the moment so this weekend away is a blessing," Louise answered. "How's your new position going?"

"I'm slowly settling into it," Michelle replied.

"You're doing a great job," Tony corrected.

"Michelle mentioned that you work together," Steve commented to Tony.

Silently sighing to himself, Tony rubbed his jaw as he took a second to mentally prepare himself for the questions to come. However, before he could reply, Danny interceded.

"Actually Michelle is sleeping with her boss," he stated while settling himself onto the couch alongside his parents.

The combination of Michelle's anger at her brother's crude remark and his own refusal to be intimidated, especially by someone who wasn't in a position to make relationship critiques, spurred Tony into action.

"Actually, Michelle and I decided to start dating before my promotion to Director of CTU," Tony clarified, stretching the truth to its limits.

"What precisely does the Director of CTU do?" Steve enquired.

"I manage the processing of intelligence gathering alongside Michelle, my Chief of Staff, and coordinate operational missions with Jack Bauer, our Head of Field Ops," Tony explained.

"Did you study management at college?" Louise asked.

"No. I have a double degree in engineering and IT followed by a Masters in IT. I was originally hired for the IP-MAN position, like Michelle" Tony explained. "So maybe in a couple of years Michelle will be running CTU," Tony added in a vain attempt to draw the attention away from him.

Fifteen minutes, and many questions later, the kids tired of their new toys and demanded lunch. Louise immediately ushered everyone to the table where, much to Tony's relief, the focus returned to the birthday girl and the mood relaxed considerable.

After lunch, Danny and the kids returned to living room to watch cartoons while Tony, Michelle and her parents remained at the table drinking coffee and chatting. The conversation had once again refocused on Tony. However, now sated and relaxed, he was enthusiastically describing his childhood in Chicago and his plans for the upcoming visit he and Michelle would be making. An hour later, it was time for an afternoon nap, something that Michelle's parents, exhausted from an early mornings travelling, looked forward to more than their grandchildren. Michelle and Tony said their goodbyes and left the apartment hand in hand.

"That wasn't too bad," Michelle commented as they headed for the car.

"Sure. Your dad asked me enough questions to write my biography and your brother treated me with the same enthusiasm as syphilis," Tony countered.

Shaking her hand, Michelle clarified, "Danny has always been overprotective and he's a bit negative on the relationship front right now, but he'll come around. As for Dad, he's a lawyer and loves to ask questions; it wasn't exactly an interrogation."

"My Drill Sergent always said: if it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger," Tony joked.

"Good, then you should be primed for dinner with my parents tomorrow."

"That's a tough task, but for you I'll endeavour to endure the ordeal," Tony replied sarcastically, punctuating the sentence by opening the passenger side door for Michelle with a flourishing gesture.

Laughing, Michelle entered the car, thankful that the afternoon had passed relatively smoothly and hoping that it was a sign of things to come.


	5. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

**Dedication:** In the memory of my Abuela, who would lovingly spend the week cooking to provide a feast which couldn't be finished even if us grandkids had fasted for the entire week.

**  
Setting:** Two weeks later.

_  
Where there's smoke, there's fire._

_Sunday 11:43 am_

Following Tony into his kitchen, Michelle wondered how she had been talked into this; actually the _how_ was easy, why was a much better question. Tony had decided that he was going to teach her how to make his speciality: tortillas. Not only did Michelle have no interest in cooking— why slave over a hot stove when you can buy food prepared— but she also considered it akin to witchcraft. Her logic-based brain couldn't grasp the concept of a pinch of this or a dash of that. This, in combination with the fact that patience was not necessarily one of Tony's virtues, was going to make the cooking lesson an interesting experience.

"A tortilla is incredibly easy to make," Tony stated putting the necessary ingredients on the bench.

"You know that declaring something foolproof only guarantees that you find a bigger fool," Michelle countered.

"Have a little faith."

"You have faith in my cooking abilities?" questioned Michelle.

"No, I have faith in my ability to teach you to cook," joked Tony. "Now, first thing we need to do is prepare the potatoes: peel, quarter and zap for three minutes on high. Microwaving is your speciality, right?"

"You realise that I could have microwaved a ready-made breakfast in this time," Michelle retaliated.

Shaking his head and sighing, Tony clarified "It's only considered food if it's edible."

"We'll discuss this again once I've finished cooking."

Laughing, Tony sat back and watched Michelle begin preparations. After chopping the potatoes, Tony had Michelle move onto the onions and then fry both in olive oil and fresh garlic while Tony launched into a detailed explanation of the art of making the perfect omelette.

"Tilt the bowl more; a forty-five degree angle gives the greatest air interface," Tony instructed.

"I wasn't aware that eggs breathed," Michelle retorted.

With an impatient sigh, Tony clarified, "the aeration is important to make the omelette light and fluffy."

Adjusting the bowl as indicated, Michelle replied, "You know if you want a job done right, you should do it yourself."

"Look Michelle, if you really don't want to do this, let me know, 'cause I could certainly do it quicker myself. I just thought you might like to learn have to cook something," Tony replied sharply.

Looking across at Tony, Michelle immediately noted that his expression showed hurt, rather than the anger suggested by his words. Closing her eyes for a second, she sighed and tried to reconcile her own thoughts and emotions. If she was honest with herself, a large part of why she was being so difficult about this cooking lesson was that she was embarrassed at her lack of skill in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I'm just not a nineteen-fifties domestic goddess," she explained.

"Well, I wouldn't complain about handing over the cleaning and ironing but otherwise I much prefer having a partner who's strong, confident and passionate, even if it means that I have to concede the occasional argument," Tony replied.

Smiling Michelle walked over and kissed him, "I love you, Tony."

"I love you too, Michelle."

Several minutes later, Michelle reluctantly pulled out of Tony's embrace as the aroma of cooking pervaded her nostrils. "Wow, that's starting to smell good," she stated.

Stepping towards the stove, Tony looked down at the perfectly browned potatoes, "Looks like you have a nose for cooking; time to add the omelette mix."

Picking up the bowl, Michelle quickly tilted it on the appropriate forty-five degree angle and gave it one last whisk prior to pouring over the potatoes. "OK, all done. And I'm done. The flipping is all yours; I always make a real mess."

Turning on the grill, Tony smiled, "Leave it on the stove for three to four minutes to brown on the bottom, then add cheese and cook the top in the grill. That way you avoid the whole flipping challenge and it comes out lighter. It also gives us some time… now where were we?"

...

_Monday 9:17 am_

"CTU, Almeida."

"Tony, Ryan Chappelle here. I'm just reviewing the CTU personal paperwork and noticed that both you and Michelle are listed as being interstate this coming weekend."

"That's correct Ryan," Tony replied careful to keep his tone level. He couldn't afford to irritate Chappelle at this point as his mother would kill him if he and Michelle missed the celebrations this weekend.

"You should have informed me directly," Ryan chastised.

"Protocol is to file notification with Division," Tony replied, fighting hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"In future, I expect to be informed directly if more than one of CTU's senior management will be out of LA. I can't have both of you unreachable on the same weekend; one of you is going to have to change their plans," Ryan stated.

"That's ridiculous Ryan. I'll be gone less than forty-eight hours and I'll have my cell phone with me and on the entire time. If a high-level active protocol emerges, Jack is perfectly capable of running the office during the four hours it would take me to fly back from Chicago."

"This isn't a debate Tony. I see no reason why you and Michelle can't arrange to take your time away separately."

Rubbing his check, Tony took a second to register Ryan's orders and decide upon the best course of action. He could, of course, simply argue that both he and Michelle had fixed date events to attend. But that would involve a direct effect to conceal their relationship, an action that would most likely come back to haunt him when Ryan eventual found out the truth. No, he was going to fight this one head on.

"That won't work for us Ryan. The reason both Michelle and I will be away is that we're travelling together," Tony stated firmly.

"Please don't tell me that after the Nina Myers debacle you are actually stupid enough to screw another colleague."

"Careful with your language Ryan," Tony warned tersely.

"You're the one who needs to be careful, Almeida. You'll end this relationship immediately and I expect either yourself or Michelle to be in LA this weekend."

"You have no authority to dictate what we do in our personal time," Tony retaliated.

"I do when your actions affect your work and your decisions; should I ask what performance evaluation Michelle underwent to gain her promotion?" Ryan replied crudely.

"You tell me Ryan; you promoted her," Tony retorted. "I believe it was something to do with how happy your superiors were with our work towards stopping an unnecessary war."

"An effort that involved an act of treason, just like your last office fling," Ryan insinuated.

"Nina was a traitor; her decision to sell classified information to terrorists was in no way linked to her relationship with me. As for the actions of Michelle and myself, all we did was fight to save this country from terrorists which, if I recall correctly, is exactly what we were hired to do. And what we are still doing, and doing well according to Hammond's latest review; something which you were only to happy to take credit for," Tony outlined, making sure to pitch his comments towards Ryan desire for advancement.

"Here's how this is going to work Almeida. I will closely evaluate both you and Michelle during the next month; if I detect even the smallest sign of your relationship affecting your work I'll be informing Brad directly. I also expect both of you to be reachable this weekend, understood?" Ryan dictated.

"Understood," Tony agreed curtly. Certainly the intrusive evaluation would be a pain in the ass but considering Chappelle's initial resistance, this was an acceptable compromise and, in reality, a better outcome than he had expected.

…

_5:12 am_

The sound of someone knocking at his door roused Tony from the latest intel report he was reviewing. Looking up to see Michelle, he waved her in.

"Hey, how are the daily reports going?" Tony enquired.

"The departmental reports are completed and have been forwarded to Division; a copy is in your directory. I have karate training this evening, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Tony commented, rubbing his check as he looked across at Michelle and tried to figure out the best way to tell her about his conversation with Ryan. He had been trying to work up the nerve to tell her all day and was running out of excuses.

"That sounds ominous," Michelle stated.

"Ryan called earlier asking one of us to change our travel plans for this weekend," Tony informed her.

Michelle groaned, "What did you tell him?"

"The truth."

"You told him about us? Without even consulting me?" Michelle questioned sharply.

"I was in the middle of a phone call, Michelle, what did you want me to do? Put Chappelle on hold in the midst of an argument to discuss the best course of action with you?" Tony enquired incredulously.

"Given that Ryan's demand involved me, you could have conferenced me in on the call," Michelle insisted.

"Honestly, that didn't even occur to me. Look, Ryan wanted to know why one of us couldn't change our plans and I wasn't about to lie. He would have found out eventually, this way we told him on our terms."

"You mean _you_ told him on _your_ terms," Michelle clarified before adding, "How did he react?"

"As expected: he disapproved, made unreasonable demands and then placed us on a one month evaluation."

"We're being evaluated?" Michelle replied in surprise. She always knew that Ryan wouldn't be happy about them dating but had never really thought about exactly how he would react. The idea of her personal life being subject to evaluation made her feel violated, and the fact that Tony hadn't involved her in such an important decision made her incensed.

"What exactly did Chappelle say?" Michelle demanded. Tony recounted the conversion wearily, aware that it was only going to make her more irate.

Listening to Tony's subdued retelling, it suddenly occurred to Michelle that he had obviously had some time to process the situation. "When exactly did this conversation take place?" she enquired.

"This morning just after nine."

"What?" yelled Michelle, staring across at Tony lividly.

Unsure how to best explain his decision, which he still believed was appropriate, or how to deal with Michelle's obvious ire, Tony remained silent. Several agonising seconds later, he was rescued by his phone ringing. Quickly snatching up the receiver, he grateful answered, "CTU, Almeida".

"Tony, it's Jack. Put me on speaker."

Happy for any distraction at this point, Tony immediately complied, "OK, Jack you're on speaker."

"Hi, Michelle."

"Hi, Jack," Michelle responded curtly.

"I just got off the phone with Chappelle who sounded about as irate as you," Jack stated.

Glancing across at Jack's office, Michelle realised that he must have heard her last outburst, "Sorry about that Jack. I'm just a little annoyed about being the last one to find out about this."

"Ryan's going to be asking anyone he can about how they view your working relationship so I'd advise you to resolve any domestics at home rather than in the office. Or at least keep your voices down."

Slightly mollified, Michelle replied, "We'll do that."

Nodding slightly in agreement, Tony added, "How did you answer Ryan's question?"

"I told him that you two are highly efficient professionals who don't bring their personal problems into the office; so do me a favour and try not to make me look like a complete liar. And Tony, take it from someone who was married seventeen years: if Michelle is angry enough to be yelling at you, you really need to apologise."

"Thanks, Jack," Tony replied looking across at Michelle who now had a slightly bemused look on her face as she also thanked Jack.

Hanging up, Tony decided that he was going to take Jack's advice, "Michelle, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you about this earlier but I knew it would make you unhappy and I just wanted to protect you from that."

Sighing, Michelle replied, "I don't need you to protect me Tony; I need you to treat me as an equal partner. Remember you only get to be on top in the office," Michelle added with impish grin.

Smirking, Tony looked across his desk at Michelle and then at the glass walls of his office. "What time are you home from karate tonight?"

"Just after nine."

"How about starting on the whole equal partnership deal tonight? I'll whip up some home-made brownies so you can make your world-famous ice-cream sundaes."

"See you tonight," Michelle confirmed.

…

_Friday 11:47 pm_

"You do realise that the quicker we exit the plane, the longer we'll have to stand around the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage," Michelle pointed out to Tony who had risen from his seat the minute the pilot had turned off the fasten seat belt sign.

"I hate planes," Tony grumbled. "I can't believe that you slept the whole way," he added looking across at Michelle, who had closed her eyes, rested her head on his shoulder and napped for the duration of the flight.

"It's been a busy week; anyway, it was a great opportunity to catch up on my beauty sleep."

"Sweetheart, you're the last person who needs beauty sleep— c'mon, let's get out of here."

Jostling into the aisle, Tony collected their hand luggage and ushered Michelle out of the plane.

Surveying the crowd as they deplaned, Tony spotted his parents, grabbed Michelle's hand and led her over. "Hey, Mom… Dad," he said while hugging each of them in turn.

By the time he had turned to introduce Michelle, his mother already had her in an embrace and was making her own introduction. "It's a pleasure to meet you Michelle, I'm Denise and this is my husband Alex."

"Hello, Michelle," Alex said greeting her with a kiss on each check. "_Ella es muy bonita,_"he added to his son.

"_Si, _and Michelle speaks Spanish," Tony responded.

"Beautiful and intelligent," Alex clarified smiling at Michelle who couldn't help but be charmed.

Shaking her head slightly at her husband, Denise suggested to Michelle, "If you aren't too tired, we can drive home through the city and point out the sights. Downtown Chicago is lovely all lit up."

Glancing down at her watch, Michelle replied, "I'm fine but it's almost midnight; I don't want to keep you up late."

"We never go to bed this early on a Friday night," Denise explained with a smile. "It's settled then, we'll collect your bags, take the scenic route home and stop in at our friend Pedro's restaurant for some _churros con chocolate_, which will give us plenty of time to get acquainted."

"OK," Michelle agreed knowing that Tony would be in full agreement with the midnight snack plan— a habit that obviously ran in the family.

Thirty minutes later, they were all seated in the restaurant with a huge plate of Spanish donuts in front on them. The conversation followed the predicted course of standard questions about Michelle's hometown and hobbies. Michelle instantly warmed to Tony's parents who were an open, warm couple and could see various personality traits that Tony had inherited in each of them.

On arrival at Tony's parents' house, Michelle was given a quick tour of the house before finding herself in Tony's old bedroom. Upon inspection, Michelle noted a large number of model cars in addition to an overwhelming array of Cubs memorabilia.

Noticing Michelle's examination, Tony commented, "I really should box all that stuff up."

"Obviously your parents are at loathe to give up their little boy," Michelle teased.

"Actually I think they are holding onto all this stuff for their future grandson," Tony replied, glancing across at Michelle cautiously.

Walking across the room to join Tony, Michelle wrapped her arms around him and met his gaze as she addressed his implied question. "Sometime in the distant future, we'll have to see what we can do about that."

"No rush, I'm definitely not going anywhere," Tony replied softly leaning in to kiss her. Seconds later he added, "But you know, we could always get in a bit of practice."

Gently slapping away his wandering hand, Michelle extracted herself from his embrace stating, "Not with your parents down the hall."

"I guess I'll have to settle for a rain check," Tony replied with a smirk as he stripped down and settled into bed for some much needed sleep for the busy weekend ahead.

…

_Saturday 3: 20 pm_

After a relaxed family breakfast, Tony and Michelle had been shooed out of the house earlier that morning to explore Chicago. Their sight-seeing had taken in both the standard tourist sites, along with those associated with Tony's childhood. Michelle had found the latter, especially the tales Tony recounted, extremely interesting. Moreover, this trip down memory lane provided a nice distraction from fretting over meeting Tony's extended family. In addition to Tony's sister, her husband and kids, an assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins and Tony's grandmother would be present for the party. And if a quarter of the stories Tony had told Michelle were true, Michelle was about to meet some real characters.

Upon returning to the house, preparations were in full swing. Entering the kitchen, Michelle saw that a transformation had occurred since breakfast. A trestle table was now set up abutting the kitchen table and was set for eighteen people. The kitchen bench was replete with trays and platters containing a vast array of food. In fact, the diversity of dishes was only surpassed by the quantity and Michelle was now thankful that they had, on Tony's advice, eaten a light lunch.

"Michelle, come and meet Tina," Denise beckoned. Mother and daughter were standing side by side chopping fruit.

Tina stepped forward and gave Michelle a quick hug, "Pleased to meet you Michelle, and thanks for persuading Tony to make the trip. I obviously don't have the charm to entice the bugger home."

"I love you too, Tina," Tony replied stepping forward and giving his sister a hug in turn. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks. Rick and the girls are in the living room," Tina said.

"Go introduce your family to Michelle. I have everything under control here," Denise interrupted, waving her daughter out of the kitchen.

Moving into the living room, Michelle found herself introduced to Tina's husband Rick and her two daughters. Ana, the 4 year old was happily arranging a tea party for her dolls while old 6 month, Stacey, was looking around alertly from her crib where she was allegedly sleeping. Watching on as Tony picked up his newest niece, Michelle sat down on the couch to chat with Rick and Alex, who had retreated from the kitchen to let his wife arrange the party to her liking.

The conversation had barely covered the basics when the doorbell sounded announcing the first guests.

The next thing she knew, Michelle was being hugged, kissed and greeted by a seemly endless stream of Tony's relatives. And despite Tony's earlier briefing on his family, Michelle quickly lost track of whom she was being introduced to. However, one woman immediately stood out from the crowd.

"Antonio, come here and give your _Tia_ a kiss."

Turning slightly Michelle watched as Tony grudgingly walked across the room to greet his aunt, "Hey _Tia_, _¿como etais?_"

"_Muy bien_, now where is this girlfriend I've heard so much about?"

"Michelle," Tony called, beckoning her over. "Michelle, this is my aunt Lilliana. _Tia_, this is Michelle."

Michelle smiled and greeted Tony's aunt, who immediately embraced her and starting chatting away at a hundred miles an hour. "Hello, Michelle. It's a real pleasure to meet you. It's about time Tony found himself a nice girl and settled down. And such an attractive woman like you will make such cute nieces and nephews for me."

"If you've finished organising our life, _Tia_. I'm going to steal Michelle away to introduce her to _Abuela_."

"_Bueno_, Michelle and I will have plenty of time to chat latter."

"Remember, avoid _Tia_ at all costs. She means well but doesn't understand that unsolicited complete honesty is not always welcome," Tony whispered in Michelle's ear as he escorted her across the room.

"_Hola, Abuela_," Tony greeted his grandmother. Michelle couldn't help but simile at the image of Tony— who was barley taller than her— bent over almost double to hug this tiny woman. "_Abuela_, this is my girlfriend Michelle. Michelle, this is Violetta."

"Hi, Violetta."

"You can call me _Abuela_, Michelle," Violetta instructed as she embraced Michelle with surprising strength for a tiny, old woman. "Now, come and sit with me and tell me all about yourself."

Following Violetta into the kitchen, Michelle soon found herself in the midst of a introductory conversation with a number of Tony's relatives. Four hours later, everyone was still sitting around the table, eating and chatting. The conversation was in a mix of English and _porteños_— the dialect of Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires from where Tony's family originated— which was a bit of a struggle for Michelle. However, everyone made an effort to include her and the vast amount of vigorous hand gesturing and passion helped Michelle to follow the gist of the discussions in which the family debated a range of topics from politics to gay rights to the latest movies.

While washing her hands in the bathroom, and enjoying a moment of tranquillity, Michelle soon found her peace disrupted by the entrance of Lilliana.

"Ah, Michelle. It looks like we have our chance of a little girl-to-girl gossip," Lilliana commented as she entered the adjoining toilet leaving the door slightly ajar to allow the conversation to continue.

If the situation wasn't awkward and embarrassing enough, Lilliana's series of increasing personal questions were worse. Focusing on remaining calm and in control, Michelle managed to answer the questions with as much grace as possible, until Lilliana forced her into a silent shock by asking point blank about their sex life. Fortunately, Michelle was saved from answering when another voice intervened.

"Mom, you can't ask a total stranger that… hell, you can't ask most people that question. It is completely inappropriate and really none of your business."

Turning around Michelle recognised Tony's cousin Belinda, a musician whose spiky pink and blue hair made her immediately identifiable.

"Hey, Michelle. We were wondering where you disappeared to. Ed, Rick, Tony and I have decided that we've had enough of our _loco_ family and are heading out for a drink… unless you'd rather stay here," she added sarcastically.

"I'd be happy to join you," Michelle replied thankfully. "It's been great talking to you, Lilliana."

"Liar," Belinda whispered into Michelle's ear as the two of them heading towards the kitchen to rejoin the rest of the family. "Sorry about my mom; she really doesn't know when to keep her opinion and questions to herself. Just remember, they say one in three people are crazy… so every time you talk with her you can feel so much better about your own sanity."

Laughing, Michelle decided that Tony was definitely right… his family was a bit crazy but they were also genuinely warm and friendly people who Michelle could learn to love in appropriate doses.

It was almost midnight when Tony and Michelle returned from drinks with his cousins; the evening had been lots of fun and had included, much to Tony's chagrin, a lot of embarrassing stories about his childhood. Entering the kitchen, they found Denise and Alex having coffee and left-overs in what was now a spotlessly clean room.

"Hi Tony, Michelle. Can I get you something to eat or drink?" Denise asked as they entered.

"No thanks. After today, I'm not eating for the rest of the weekend," Michelle declared.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind tomorrow, especially as Alex is preparing a real Argentine _asado_," Denise replied.

"I love barbeque; I might have to start that diet on Monday instead," Michelle answered.

"A barbeque is how Americans ruin good meat, an _asado_ is how the Argentines improve it," Tony informed her.

Shaking his head, Alex explained, "An _asado_ involves cooking the meat slowly over charcoal to give it a juicy, smoked flavour. It's a popular Argentine way to spend a quiet Sunday relaxing with your family. And don't worry, it will just be Tina and her family joining us."

"That sounds great," Michelle replied with a smile, genuinely looking forward to spending a quiet Sunday with Tony and his family.

'_Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.' (George Burns)_


	6. Personal and professional

**Setting: **Several weeks later

_Personal and professional_

_Friday, 6:13pm_

Leaning back, Tony admired his view… Michelle, who had changed her navy suit for jeans and a black tee-shirt, was in a shooting stance, her 45 mm aimed at the target. There was something incredibly sexy about the sight of a strong, confident woman with a semi-automatic.

Looking across at Tony out of the corner of her eye, Michelle noticed his wayward glance and commented, "Hey, keep your mind on the job."

"Sorry but I can think of one or two things I would rather be doing with my girlfriend on a Friday night," Tony replied with a suggestive smirk.

"Help me ace the firearms component of my annual fitness evaluation and I'll be extremely grateful," Michelle countered with an arched eyebrow. "Now, how's my stance?"

Returning his gaze to her stance and forcing himself to focus on her positioning, Tony quickly noted a couple of minor discrepancies. "OK, first split you weight over your feet evenly to allow yourself balance and to be ready to move in any given direction as the need arises."

"Now relax your shoulders a little," he continued as he stepped in behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders to make sure she wasn't tensed up. As he anticipated, as soon as Michelle relaxed her shoulders down, she also dropped her arms, so he now brought his right arm around and propped up her elbow to the appropriate level while his left hand rested on her shoulder making sure that she maintained the correct placement. "Remember to keep your gun up just below shoulder level to maximise stability and allow yourself to line up the front sight or you'll lose accuracy," he instructed.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Focused on correcting Michelle's technique, and enjoying her closeness, Tony had completely lost any perception of the surrounding environment and was startled to hear Jack's voice.

"Shooting," he quipped as he stepped away from Michelle and glanced across to see Jack and his new partner Chase, walking across the gun range.

"Your stance is good; try again," Tony added to Michelle, desperately trying to reinject some professionalism into the situation. To further avoid any awkward conversation, he kept his eyes on Michelle as she fired off a round.

"You're leaning forward a bit," Jack commented to Michelle before adding, "maybe you need a better teacher."

"Right now, I'm helping Michelle but next time I'll be happy to demonstrate that we Marines know how to shoot," Tony retaliated.

"Anytime," Jack answered calmly as he continued to the farthest booth to begin his practice session with Chase.

Twenty minutes later, Michelle was feeling more confident about her technique. After a brief good-night to Jack and Chase, Michelle and Tony left the range. Once out of earshot, Michelle commented, "So I guess we can assume that Chase knows we're dating."

"Either that, or he thinks I'm the world's sleaziest boss," Tony replied.

"Maybe you should make a couple of locker room comments and throw him off the track," Michelle joked.

"The last time I made a lewd comment about a girlfriend to my buddies, I was nineteen, and she dumped me less than twenty-four hours later… talk about instant karma."

"You believe in karma?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know. Sometimes. But it's a scary thought given what we do and the kinds of decisions we make in this job… I guess I'm in for a world of pain some time down the track."

"I believe that your destiny is something that you get to shape yourself and knowing you, you'll have no problems conquering any challenge that the world— or karma— throws at you," Michelle replied.

"I think I like your philosophy better; I might have to adopt it," Tony replied with a smile before turning the topic onto their plans for the rest of the evening.

…

_Tuesday 11.42 am_

"Jack… Jack, did you hear a word I just said?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I think I've just figured out how they're exchanging information. We've been following the wrong people."

"I assume you're talking about the Uyghur Resistance Group. I'm still waiting for your field update on them for the weekly status report," Tony commented, trying to get Jack's focus back onto the issue at hand.

"I'm compiling it now; you'll have it in five minutes… I need to get surveillance teams on the wives— they're the missing link," Jack replied.

"You think the wives are involved in planning the op? There is no intel to suggest their involvement; in fact, all evidence indicates that those ladies are traditional Muslim housewives."

"Chatter clearly indicates that something big is imminent, but surveillance on the group leaders hasn't turned up any interactions over the past week. It's almost as if they realise they might be being watched and are using another form of communication. I think the wives are acting as blind conduits," Jack explained.

"So you want to set up surveillance on the wives?" Tony clarified, knowing from experience that it was best not to question, or try to fight, Jack's intuition. "Fine, I'll go co-ordinate setting up the new surveillance teams with Michelle and Chloe while you finish that update so we can get Ryan off our back to concentrate on this op," Tony added.

"Okay, set up in the conference room. I'll be down in five minutes."

...

_2.33 pm _

"CTU, Bauer"

"Jack, it's Chase. We got a problem."

"Tell me you haven't lost them."

"No. Three of the wives have converged. I've got the three surveillance teams working together to secure a perimeter about the meeting place…"

"Who do you have maintaining a visual on them?" Jack interrupted.

"That's the problem, Jack. They're in a women's-only gym. I walked in and told the staff that I was looking to buy a membership for my girlfriend and wanted a tour but they wouldn't let me up into the work-out area," Chase explained.

"Maintain a secure perimeter and try and get someone with a scope into a nearby building with a vantage point. I'll get someone over there ASAP," Jack instructed.

"Copy that," Chase confirmed.

Placing down the phone, Jack addressed Chloe, "Chloe, I going to need to set-up a new sub-directory for incoming surveillance data."

"I'll have to go over to IT and work directly from the mainframe, Jack" Chloe responded.

"Fine, do it," Jack commanded.

"What's going on Jack?" Tony asked.

Jack succinctly outlined the situation, before adding to Michelle, "I don't suppose you have any work-out clothes in your locker?"

"No way," Tony overrode before Michelle had a chance to answer.

"Tony, our intel suggests an attack is being staged for this week. We have the wives of three of the group leaders together in one location only fifteen minutes away from CTU. We need to get a female in there immediately. Michelle is up to speed with the operation, her latest fitness evaluation was within field op specs, not to mention that she's been in the field before. This is a simple surveillance job against three untrained, unarmed females with three back-up teams already in place," Jack outlined. As he emphasised the importance and urgency of the situation he kept his gaze on both Tony and Michelle. Tony's displeasure at the inevitable was evident from the set of his jaw and the anger in his eyes while Michelle had a calm but determined expression on her face.

Rising to her feet, Michelle broke the impasse, "Excuse us for a minute, Jack," she said, walking out of the room.

Rubbing his check, Tony glanced from Michelle's retreating figure to Jack before standing up with a sigh and following Michelle out of the room. Watching the two of them walk across the bullpen, Jack was sure of two things: Michelle would be back within five minutes ready for the op and Tony was going to be impossible until she was safely back at CTU.

Once they had cleared the bullpen and began walking down the deserted hallway towards the locker rooms, Michelle stopped and faced Tony. They hadn't exchanged a word since leaving the conference room, although Tony's frustration was palpable.

"I love you too, Tony but I'm a federal agent with a black belt in karate and I am fully trained to handle this sort of situation," Michelle commented.

"Well-trained agents bleed just as well as those who are poorly trained," Tony retorted sarcastically. "Look, I get that you have to do this… I even agree with your decision but I'll be dammed if I going to be happy about it and I certainly won't stop worrying about you the entire time that you're out there," Tony continued. "Now go get your gear so we can get this over with."

"Tony, if the situation was reversed, I'd feel the same way," Michelle replied, hoping to elevate some of the stress from the current situation.

"Maybe so, but you'd handle the situation with so much more poise and self-control," Tony commented with a slight smile.

Returning his smile and feeling calmer now that she was certain Tony was on-side, Michelle hurried down the hall to change into work-out clothes.

…

_2.53pm_

"We're about two minutes out now. I want a wire with GPS tracking for Michelle so we can follow the situation in real time," Jack instructed Chase over the phone.

Hanging up, Jack turned his attention to Michelle, "So you're clear on all the details."

"Yes, I can handle this Jack," Michelle responded confidently.

"You wouldn't be out here if I didn't believe that," Jack replied wirily. "Just remember, don't be a hero… trust me, that always ends in pain. If something goes wrong, give the distress signal and we'll be there in ASAP."

"Will do, Jack," Michelle agreed readily.

Several minutes later, she entered the work-out area, scanning the room for the three wives as she nonchalantly walked across it. She soon spotted the three of them, chatting together in the back corner of the room which had been designated as a stretching area. Given that the ladies had been there for about fifty minutes at this point it made sense that they should be almost finished their work-out. Michelle made her way over and selected a space nearby and began stretching herself. The women paid Michelle no attention, nor did they show any concern at her proximity… although this was probably due to the fact that they were conversing in what Michelle assumed to be Uyghur. Michelle focused on her stretching, making sure to stay off the women's radar. Her wire should be picking up the conversation for CTU to have translated.

Minutes later, the wives left the stretching area and made their way to the bank of lockers near the door. Finishing her current stretch, Michelle gave them a small head-start before following. Not having brought a bag with her, Michelle passed by the lockers and headed straight to the change room arriving before the ladies. She positioned herself in front of the mirrors restyling her hair so she could watch them while keeping her distance.

Ten minutes later the wives were back in street clothes and head scarfs. They had maintained a constant stream of conversation whilst changing but no physical exchange of any information had occurred. Michelle followed them out of the gym.

Upon exiting she immediately spotted Jack lolling against a light pole. He walked over and whispered, "Anything?"

Shaking her head, Michelle informed him that she had gained nothing more than the conversation he'd been following through the comm. unit. Jack nodded and replied, "Chase and Lee have resumed their tail; you can head back to CTU… hopefully something will come from either the recorded conversation or the continued surveillance."

"Fine," Michele agreed, happy enough to be out of the field without incident.

At that moment Jack's cell rang, "Yeah."

"Where?... Our ETA is five minutes," he replied before hanging up. "Looks like we still need your services; let's go."

"What's going on, Jack?" Michelle asked as they retraced their steps.

"The ladies just entered a beauty salon on Spring and Vine."

Getting on his comm. unit, Jack informed the surveillance teams and CTU of the latest development. Upon hearing that Michelle would be returning into the field, Tony's immediately voiced his concerns, "Jack, it's too risky to send Michelle back in. If they recognise her from the gym, it could alert them to our surveillance."

"We need to maintain constant surveillance and Michelle is the only option at this point… it's worth the risk," Jack replied.

"Which risk, Jack, the op. or her life?" Tony retaliated.

Standing outside the beauty salon, Jack looked directly at Michelle. Michelle quickly considered the two opinions: her reappearance at a second location significantly increased the chances of being spotted, but there was no point of running intermittent surveillance when another option was available. And right now, they needed some solid intel. Michelle nodded and made her way to the salon door.

Upon entering the front room, Michelle could see that the wives were not there … and as Chase and Lee had the entrance and exit covered, she walked confidently past the reception desk and towards the door at the end of the room. Walking down the hallway, Michelle spotted various doors, presumably leading to smaller, private treatment rooms. She considered her options; she could play lost and start opening doors but that would quickly draw attention to herself. Instead Michelle decided that the door at the end of the hall, which bore a 'Staff only' sign, was the most likely area for a rendezvous. Glancing behind her to confirm that she was indeed alone, she placed an ear on the door. Hearing no voices or any other sounds beyond it, she opened it and entered.

Before her was a staff room with a kitchenette, a table and a couch in the far corner of the room. The three wives were seated on the couch, currently in conversation with an unknown Middle Eastern man. The conversation stoped as soon as they spotted her. Plastering an embarrassed smile on her face, Michelle said, "Opps, I've gotten myself all mixed up; this isn't the way out." She then quickly turned and headed back out the door before the ladies could place her as being at the gym earlier.

As she walked down the hall towards the entrance she heard the door open behind her but forced herself to keep moving at a steady pace. Exiting the salon, she once again spotted Jack leaning casually against a pole idly waiting. Michelle filled him in on the situation. Once she'd finished, Jack quickly scanned the surrounding area before pulling out his comm. unit to fill in Chase and Lee and instruct them to get photos of all men leaving the premises. Next he made arrangements for surveillance on the women's contact. With all the plans in place, Jack turned to Michelle, "Look, I'm going to stay on-site. I'm sure Tony could use you both at CTU."

Michelle nodded in agreement, knowing that she had outlasted her usefulness and that Tony was probably going out of his mind back at CTU. Collecting the car keys from Jack, Michelle began her walk to the car.

She was only about a block away when she sensed a presence behind her. Glancing at her watch, Michelle muttered a couple of words, and picked up her pace as if just realising she was late for something. She immediately heard rapid foot steps behind her. Now, certain she was being followed, she reached for her cell while furtively glancing in the shop windows in the hope of catching a glance of her tail.

"CTU, Almeida."

"Tony, it's … ," Michelle began as a sedan suddenly pulled up to the curb alongside her, its rear door flew open at the same moment she felt her tail grab her from behind.

Dropping her phone, Michelle's instincts kicked in as she took a couple of steps towards the open car door. Expecting to encounter resistance as he dragged her into the awaiting car, her attacker was caught off guard. As he struggled to regain his balance, Michelle pivoted around releasing herself from his grasp and firmly connecting her elbow with his jaw. The now unconscious attacker collapsed into the open car.

By this time, two guys had exited the car and were approaching her in a V-shaped bidirectional attack. Knowing that she didn't want to be fighting both of them simultaneously, Michelle quickly cleared the distance between herself and the nearest assailant. Covering the last few meters with a flying side kick, Michelle caused her opponent to stumbling backwards, doubled over. She then brought the blade of her hand down in a karate chop to the exposed nerves of his neck, sending him down to his knees in pain. Knowing that she couldn't risk him recovering, Michelle lashed out with a kick that sent him crashing into the stationary car before hitting the ground unconscious.

Michelle then whirled around to face her final attacker who she could sense right behind her. Half-way through turning, she heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot, followed instantly by a sharp pain in her shoulder. She stumbled back slightly due to the combination of the pain and the momentum of the bullet. Gasping, she forced herself to regain her footing and face her attacker, who was standing gun pointed directly at her intently watching her every move. She slowly raised both hands up, palms forward giving her assailant the message that she was surrendering while allowing her hands to be in the best position for any further attacks. Unfortunately, the gunman was standing too far for her to safely attempt to disarm him without risking being shot and at this juncture she assumed that they wanted her alive… it certainly would make no sense to abduct her just to kill her.

Michelle could see her cell phone lying open on the ground and hoped that Tony had realised the situation and had already sent back-up. She was still wearing a wire, and although uncertain whether anyone was monitoring it, she addressed the gunman, "I'm a federal agent, put the gun away. _We can work something out_," she added, using the distress code.

"Push Eric into the car and get in after him," the gunmen ordered, inclining his head towards the first assailant Michelle had downed. Moving towards 'Eric', Michelle struggled to force his now semi-conscious body into the vehicle, wincing at the pain jolting through her body at the effort of shifting his dead weight with her injured shoulder. Despite the difficulty of the task, its accomplishment came quicker than Michelle would have liked and she found herself getting into the backseat of the car with no clear escape plan in mind.

The gunman moved around to the driver's seat, automatically locking the doors, before turning slightly and aiming the gun at Michelle.

"One false move and I'll shoot."

Michelle began to run scenarios through her mind as he put the car into drive. However, the car had only begun to pull away from the curb when two CTU vehicles suddenly blocked its path. Agents spilled out of the SUVs, guns aimed directly at the driver. Taking advantage of his distracted state, and eager to quickly end this without it becoming a hostage situation, Michelle lunged forward and launched a blow to the gunman's jaw. As his head snapped back against the seat, the gun clattered from his hand onto the floor. Now unarmed, he quickly conceded defeat.

Ten minutes later Michelle was sitting in the back seat trying to persuade Tony that she was fine. After personally dressing her shoulder wound, Jack had instructed Chase to drive her back to CTU where he would be in charge of the interrogations of the three suspects alongside Tony. Michelle had the feeling that Jack didn't think Tony would be calm enough to handle the interrogation of the guy who shot Michelle. And judging by the anxiousness in his voice during their phone conversation, in which he asked her three times if she was okay, Michelle thought Jack might just be right.

Hanging up, she noticed Chase eying her in the rear view mirror. Knowing that she had an audience, Michelle had kept her end of the call professional even though she knew that Chase knew something was going on between her and Tony.

"Given that you just held your own against three terrorists, you'd think Tony could stop treating you as if you're fragile."

"Tony's just afraid that he's going to end up doing all the paperwork solo," Michelle joked, trying to keep the mood light while avoiding a direct acknowledgment of their relationship. Chase smiled and took the hint, refraining from further comments.

Pulling into the parking lot, Michelle was unsurprised to find Tony waiting at the door. He immediately addressed Chase, "The suspects just arrived. The two who were rendered unconscious are currently in Medical being checked over. The third's been transferred to interrogation one. Adam's setting up to comm. and Chloe's putting together an interrogation package for you. I'll be monitoring. Everything should be ready in about five minutes."

"I'll go and check in with Chloe now," Chase responded, heading into the building.

With Chase gone, Tony stepped forward, engulfed Michelle in his arms and drew her into a kiss. "I love you," he whispered breathlessly in her ear as they broke apart.

"I love you too, Tony."

"How's the shoulder holding out?"

"It really doesn't hurt that much," Michelle insisted.

"It will once the adrenaline has worn off; you should head off to Medical to get it checked out properly."

Meeting her gaze, Tony continued softly, "You were incredible out there. But if you make me go through many more hours like that I'll have a coronary before I hit thirty-two."

"Well now that I can claim to have been shot in the line of duty, I think it's okay to retire back behind a desk," Michelle teased back, pleased to see that Tony was handling the situation better now that he has personally confirmed that she was safe.

"Go to Medical. Then if you're up to it, I could use you on the floor running surveillance with Gael," Tony commented, returning to his professional self.

Nodding, Michelle followed him back into CTU.

…

_Friday 7.14 pm_

"Hi honey, I'm home," Tony called out, as he let himself into Michelle's apartment. The large open-plan living area allowed Tony to greet Michelle, who was curled up on the couch with her laptop, as he veered across to the kitchen area to dump a bag of groceries and his mail on the island bar.

"Oh, good. I could use a welcome-home drink," Michelle teased back.

"Not with those painkillers. But I did pick up some fresh pasta and steaks for dinner."

"Sounds like a decent compromise."

Since escorting her home Tuesday evening, Tony had been ever-attentive and supporting. As he predicted, once the shock and initial swelling subsided, her shoulder was extremely painful and every small movement— breathing included— was a challenge. She'd been working from home for the last three days, a concession that was as much due to CTU's overwhelming workload as her ability to convince him that she couldn't stand doing nothing but watching TV. Not only did it keep her busy but it gave her a legitimate excuse to call and e-mail him throughout the day.

Given that her minimal culinary skills were severely hampered by her injury, Michelle remained on the couch completing her final task for the day while Tony set about making them dinner. Fifteen minutes later, she saved the compiled search results and shut down her laptop. Slowly easing herself off the couch, she made her way across the room to join Tony, who was leaning against the island bar reading this mail while periodically tending to one of the three pots and pans on the stove.

"Spent too much on extravagant gifts for me?" she inquired, noticing his displeasure at whatever he was currently reading.

"Is that meant to be a subtle hint?" he responded with a smirk.

"Well, I did see this gorgeous designer handbag… seriously, everything okay?"

"Yeah, my landlord just upped the rent for the third consecutive year," Tony replied with a sigh.

"Well there's an easy solution to that problem: move in with me," Michelle responded.

"Where did that come from?" Tony asked, looking up at her with a surprised look on his face.

"It is a logical solution to your problem, especially since we don't really live apart these days… and this way I have an in-house chef. Not to mention that I kind of like having you around," she concluded, as she stepped in close and placed her hands around his waist.

Smiling down at her, Tony replied, "It does make sense, your apartment is closer to work and it's nicer than mine. And I'm rather fond of its current occupant," he commented drawing her in for a kiss.

Coming up for air a couple of minutes later, Tony whispered in her ear, "How about I finish up dinner so we can eat and then have the rest of the evening to spend curled up on the couch?"

"Sounds like a plan," Michelle agreed, stepped back to allow him to return to cooking.


	7. Never say never

**A/N:** Bet you didn't think I'd ever finish this one! Here's the much-delayed final chapter. Enjoy...

**Setting: **Three months later

_Never say never_

Sunday, 4:17pm

"No!…no, no, no, no," Tony groaned.

"It's hard to imagine the score would be any worse if they hadn't bothered to show up for the game," Jack teased Tony about the creaming of his beloved Cubs at the hands of the Mets.

Sinking the rest of his beer, Tony declared, "I need another beer, you want one?"

"Yeah," Jack answered.

Walking across the open-plan living area, Tony made his way to the kitchen area to raid the fridge. As he walked past Michelle, who was seated at the island bar typing away on her laptop, he stepped behind wrapping her in his arm as he whispered in her ear, "You want something, babe?"

"Another Coke would be great," she responded, turning around in his embrace to give him a kiss.

"Hey, you've got company here," Jack called out.

Giving Michelle one last quick hug, Tony released her and continued his journey to the fridge while responding over his shoulder, "You've got 112 channels there, Jack; you can't find something else to watch."

Ignoring Tony's jibe, Jack addressed Michelle, "why don't you join us, Michelle? It's a unique chance to see Tony cry."

Holding back a laugh, Michelle responded, "No thanks Jack, I'm the middle of winning a holiday to Australia."

Placing a couple of beers on the island bar, Tony popped a Coke and refilled Michelle's glass, as he explained to Jack, "Michelle's convinced herself that she's going to win some internet holiday competition."

"Lonely Planet is running an Australia day competition to win an all-expenses paid holiday … ever since my aunt brought me back a toy kangaroo from her trip to Australia, I've wanted to go. I just have this certainty that I'm going to win."

"Michelle, thousands of people enter those competitions, you chances of winning are about on par with my boys rescuing this game," Tony responded sarcastically.

"Well, you watch every game in the hopes of that happening. And when I win this holiday, you won't be coming with me. You interested in a trip to Australia, Jack?" Michelle asked.

Laughing, Jack responded, "I can see how you'd think I'd be your best ally, but I have to agree with Tony on this one… your odds of success aren't great."

"Fine, I'll be sure to send both of you an '_I told you so_' postcard from Australia," Michelle retaliated as Jack and Tony resettled themselves in front of the television with a fresh beer in hand to watch the final innings.

…

_Thursday 4.20pm_

"Looks like we're about to have company," Jack commented to Tony, who was seated across from him reviewing the latest standard operating procedure changes handed down from Division. Turning his gaze from the folder open on his lap, Tony glanced through the glass walls to see Michelle making her way up the stairs to Jack's office carrying a cardboard tray of coffees and a file.

Noticing that Jack and Tony had stopped their conversation at her approach, Michelle walked straight into Jack's office.

"Just the two guys I wanted to see," Michelle commented upon entering. Tucking the folder safely under her arm, Michelle handed a coffee to Tony and another across to Jack. "I also have biscotti," she added as she opened a small bag and placed it on Jack's desk.

"Not that I'm complaining- about either the interruption or the coffee- but what exactly are you doing here?" Tony asked as he popped the lid of his coffee and inhaled the intense aroma of his double espresso.

Liberating the folder, Michelle wordlessly handed a single sheet of paper over to each Jack and Tony, before seating herself down and sipping her own coffee as the guys read.

Rapidly reading and assimilating the information, Jack cast a quick confirmatory glance at Michelle, before turning his attention to Tony who was still perusing the document. Finishing a few seconds later, Tony shook his head, turned slightly in his seat to make eye contact with both Jack and Michelle, and commented, "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"That's the current plan," Michelle replied with a smirk. "So what's it going to take for us to get nine days off work?"

"Your resignations. Anyway, I thought you weren't going to take Tony," Jack teased her.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Tony asked.

"With both of you gone, my work load will be horrendous," Jack pointed out.

"You ran this place single handed for years," Tony reminded him.

"It's not me that you have to convince. I'll be happy to support your leave request but it will need to be approved by Hammond and he's not exactly thrilled about your relationship, remember."

… _three months earlier_

They were in the midst of their Monday morning staff briefing, when Hammond had waltzed in and barked out, "Almeida, Dessler, I need to speak to you now."

"We're kind of in the middle of a meeting here, Brad," Tony replied sarcastically. Having e-mailed Hammond and Chappelle late Friday to inform them that he was moving in with Michelle, he'd been expecting to incur their displeasure in the course of today, although not necessarily in person.

"There are currently no active protocols; Bauer can finish up the briefing."

Deciding that this battle wasn't worth fighting, especially given the war that was to come, Tony nodded and slid his briefing notes across the table to Jack. Jack, who was aware of the situation, gave a small smile of support to Tony and Michelle before picking up the briefing where Tony had left off. Ushering Michelle out of the conference room, they followed Brad up to Tony's office where Brad indicated for them to take a seat on the couch in the corner as he immediately swung a chair around to join them. This seating arrangement made it clear that Brad was not conceding anything.

"I'm assuming this is in regards to my e-mail Friday," Tony commented, meeting Hammond's disapproving gaze unflinchingly.

"I've spoken at length with Ryan and reviewed his evaluation which seems to suggest that to date you've kept your highly inappropriate personal relationship from interfering with your job. However, I don't believe that you'll be able to maintain this effectiveness, especially given this latest development. There is a post just opened at Division that I recommend Agent Dessler apply for a transfer into."

While Hammond's disapproval was expected, and had been a frequent topic of conversation between Tony and Michelle since the e-mail had been sent, his suggestion was a surprise. However, Michelle didn't need more than a second to know that she had no desire to leave either the job she loved or the opportunity to work alongside the man she loved.

"I'm satisfied with my current position," Michelle responded firmly.

"I recommend that you take some time to consider your options, Agent Dessler, because I will assure you of one thing, at the first sign of any personal problems- no matter how trivial- I will except one of your resignations. Are we clear on this?" Hammond stated dispassionately.

"Perfectly. And I can assure you that no such problems will arise," Tony replied with equal conviction and confidence. For no matter how differentially Tony and Michelle viewed things, they were strongly united in their belief in their jobs as well as their ability to do continue working together.

"Fine. Consider yourselves on notice. Now, since I'm here, I want to run a full audit," Brad answered, refusing to give Tony either the last word on the matter or any feeling of control.

…

_Tuesday 10:12 am EDT*_ (_Monday 5:12 pm PST__†_)

*EDT= Eastern Daylight Time (GMT + 10 hours); includes Melbourne (Australia).  
† PST= Pacific Standard Time (GMT – 8 hours); includes Los Angeles (USA).

Walking out of the hotel hand-in-hand, Tony and Michelle headed for the cafe recommended by the hotel clerk. They had arrived in Melbourne that morning, and after a quick shower and change of clothes, were headed off to explore. Michelle, who had slept a full eight hours on the flight, was energised and ready to go but Tony, who believed that sleeping was best achieved in a prone position, had insisted that they start the day- not that his body was necessarily convince it was morning- with coffee. Their hotel was right in the city centre, or CBD as the locals called it, and they passed the standard array of modern skyscrapers and older neo-gothic office buildings typical of the downtown area of a big city. A couple of blocks away they found the narrow laneway which was lined with cafes, all with outdoor tables. Despite the fact that the workday was well underway a bustling crowd squeezed through the laneway.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sipping their coffees and sharing a focaccia. Actually Tony had ordered the sandwich for himself but Michelle had helped herself to half.

"I thought you weren't hungry," Tony grumbled.

"It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind without due notice," Michelle teased. "Anyway, there's plenty to share and I don't want you spoil your appetite; I've picked out the perfect restaurant for lunch."

Looking across the table at Michelle's joyful smile, Tony couldn't really be upset. Furthermore, Michelle had taken advantage of the minimal foot room providing by the small cafe table to stretch out and intertwine her legs between his which was severely interfering with his ability to construct a coherent thought.

"So what are our plans for the day?" Tony asked. Since winning her dream holiday five weeks ago, Michelle had spent a large part of her spare time researching and planning the holiday. She had mapped out their days with the same intensity and attention to detail that she put into an active protocol.

"Once you're fully caffeinated, we'll start with..." Tony smiled and let Michelle enthusiastically tell him her plans for the umpteenth time; as long as she was happy, he was happy. Anyway, he had his own plans to contemplate.

_... two weeks earlier_

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

Looking up, Tony meet Jack's steady gaze as he entered the office and took a seat.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked somewhat defensively; he was aware that he'd been slightly distracted since his return from lunch with his sister, who was currently in town on a conference.

"You just sent me last week's intel. report."

"Shit, sorry Jack," Tony apologised as he immediately started tapping away at his computer to locate and forward the latest intel. report, happy to have an excuse not to maintain eye contact.

"Done," he stated a minute later, looking up to see Jack still sitting calmly in front on him with what Tony recognised to be his _determined to get to the truth _demeanour.

Glancing down at Michelle's station to ensure that she was out of earshot, Tony began with a sigh, "OK, here's the situation. My sister delivered a family heirloomfor me."

Reaching into his internal jacket pocket, Tony fished out a black ring box and placed it on the desk in front of Jack.

With a slight smile, Jack picked up the box and glanced at the engagement ring inside before replying, "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. Just do me a favour and let me know before you tell Division so I can book a week off."

Rolling his eyes, Tony commented, "I worry about breaking the news to Ryan and Brad later. Right now I more concerned about how exactly I'm going to ask her."

Recollecting the ring box, Tony kept his eyes fixed on it as he continued, "How did you propose to Teri?"

The sound of Jack chuckling caused Tony to lift his glance slightly to study Jack out of the corner of his eye.

Jack had likewise averted his gaze and was slowly shaking his head with an amused smile on his face. A second later, he looked up met Tony's gaze, and with a rather self-conscious smile began, "I was 18 and convinced that I had it _all _worked out. I'd been accepted by the army into their graduate programme which would allow me to get away from my father and the family business while still going to college. Teri and I had been together for a year, I figured that the best way for us to stay together was to get married and make the most of the military accommodation. "

Tony nodded; he'd served in the Marines with several guys who had married their high-school sweethearts for the same reasons.

"It was the end of summer so we went drove out to El Matador Beach, it's pretty secluded in the evenings except for people parking," said Jack, his grin widening.

Grinning back, Tony commented, "My first car was a cast off from my Dad, an old Valiant. It was really geeky but had the most enormous rear bench seat."

"Anyway, afterwards we went for a stroll along the beach and I told her about my plans, pulled a ring out of my pocket and asked her to join me."

Looking across at Jack's contemplative expression, Tony queried, "You ever regret it?"

"Never, I'd be lying if I said my marriage was always easy or happy but I'd never trade what we had. The feeling of satisfaction when Teri smiled and thanked me for doing the smallest of things was a hundred-fold what I've ever felt in fourteen years of service for my country."

Tony nodded; he understood the sentiment behind Jack's words.

"I'll give you two pieces of advice; remember that you're asking her to share your life so make sure that you actually do just that. And come up with a classier way of proposing because one day you might have to tell the story to your daughter."

Laughing Tony responded, "Thanks Jack."

Tony's phone rang before Jack could reply. Glancing down at Michelle's workstation, Tony noticed her phone in hand looking up at him. With a slight shake and inclination of his head, Tony indicated that he was in the middle of something and would call her shortly.

Watching the exchange Jack smiled and commented, "Don't worry; however you ask, she'll say yes."

...

_Wednesday 7:40 am EDT_

Opening his eyes slowly Tony smiled at the scene in front of him. Through the little window in the tent he could see the surrounding eucalyptus trees of the forest campsite. The only sounds were the bird calls and Michelle's slow, even breathing as she slept peacefully in his arms.

Tony had been surprised when Michelle had suggested finishing their holiday with a three day hike including wilderness camping in Wilson's Promontory National Park. However, the coastal walk had been a real trip highlight with stunning beaches of perfect white sand, turquoise water and granite cliffs surrounded by native eucalyptus forests and abundant wildlife. And he also had to admit that sharing a tent with Michelle was considerably more enjoyable that his previous camping experiences during his Marine Corps days.

Last night they had arrived at Refuge Cove, a breath-taking stretch of picture perfect beach. Today's plan was to have a picnic breakfast on the beach before hiking back to the rental car for the trip into Melbourne to catch their flight home to LA. So this morning, their last day of holiday, was when Tony planned on proposing. He liked to think to himself that he had deliberately waited for the last day to allow Michelle to enjoy her dream trip fully, rather than admit that he was afraid of the whole proposal ordeal. Regardless, when they had arrived at Refuge Cove he had known it was the perfect spot.

As he watched Michelle sleep he mulled once again over the exact way to propose; he wanted everything to be perfect. Michelle's slight stirring distracted his train of thought. Seeing her begin to wake up, Tony tightened his grip on her and brought his lips down to her neck.

With a soft sigh, Michelle slowly opened her eyes, "Morning. What do you think would happen if we accidently on purpose missed our flight home? I could certainly handle another couple of weeks of this."

"I could live with another couple of weeks of vacation but it may not be economically viable without jobs," Tony laughed. "I'll make you a deal; we'll do this again… just the two of us miles from the rest of the world."

"Hhhmmm," murmured Michelle as she wriggled around in their double sleeping bag until she was facing Tony. "Deal," she agreed seconds before her lips met his.

Once they'd cleared camp, Tony and Michelle made their way to a collection of granite boulders on the edge of the beach and settled down for breakfast with a view. From their vantage point they overlooked the wide sandy horseshoe shaped beach that was Refuge Cove. As Tony organised breakfast, Michelle stared out at the incredible shades of blue from turquoise to dark blue fringed by granite rocks tinged with orange lichen.

Looking across at her mesmerised face, Tony was momentarily overwhelmed by her beauty and suddenly he knew exactly what to say. Fishing the ring out of his pocket, he walked over to sit alongside her. Michelle angled her head towards Tony as he wrapped his arm around her, "it's stunning."

"Not as stunning as you," he replied. "You're incredible: strong, smart and passionate. I love you; marry me," he continued presenting her with the ring.

Glancing at the ring briefly, Michelle fixed her eyes on his, "Yes, I love you."

...

_The end... one where we can only hope that on some alterative universe they lived happily ever after._


End file.
